reduce somebody/something to something phrasal verb (see also reduce)

1. reduce somebody to tears/silence etc to make someone cry, be silent etc:
She was reduced to tears in front of her students.

2. reduce somebody to doing something to make someone do something they would rather not do, especially when it involves behaving or living in a way that is not as good as before:
Eventually Charlotte was reduced to begging on the streets.

3. reduce something to ashes/rubble/ruins to destroy something, especially a building, completely:
A massive earthquake reduced the city to rubble.

4. to change something into a shorter simpler form:
Many jobs can be reduced to a few simple points.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

reduce to
reduce (someone) to (something)
to force someone into a worse condition than usual.
He had to sell his home to pay his legal fees and was reduced to parking cars for money.

Sheila's cries reduced him to silence.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

reduce to something
reduce (someone) to (something)
to force someone into a worse condition than usual.
He had to sell his home to pay his legal fees and was reduced to parking cars for money.

Sheila's cries reduced him to silence.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

reduce someone to
reduce (someone) to (something)
to force someone into a worse condition than usual.
He had to sell his home to pay his legal fees and was reduced to parking cars for money.

Sheila's cries reduced him to silence.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

reduce someone to something
reduce (someone) to (something)
to force someone into a worse condition than usual.
He had to sell his home to pay his legal fees and was reduced to parking cars for money.

Sheila's cries reduced him to silence.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲