reduce to rubble

  • 1rubble — I. noun Etymology: Middle English robyl Date: 14th century 1. a. broken fragments (as of rock) resulting from the decay or destruction of a building < fortifications knocked into rubble C. S. Forester > b. a miscellaneous confused mass or group&#8230; …

    New Collegiate Dictionary

  • 2reduce — re|duce W1S1 [rıˈdju:s US rıˈdu:s] v [Date: 1300 1400; : Latin; Origin: reducere to lead back , from ducere to lead ] 1.) [T] to make something smaller or less in size, amount, or price = ↑cut →↑reduction ▪ The governor announced a new plan to&#8230; …

    Dictionary of contemporary English

  • 3reduce — re|duce [ rı dus ] verb transitive *** 1. ) to make something smaller or less in size, amount, importance, etc: CUT DOWN: Try to reduce the amount of fat in your diet. reduce something by something: The workforce will be reduced by around 30&#8230; …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 4rubble — n. 1) a heap, pile of rubble 2) (misc.) to reduce smt. to rubble * * * [ rʌb(ə)l] pile of rubble (misc.) to reduce smt. to rubble a heap …

    Combinatory dictionary

  • 5reduce to — phrasal verb [transitive] Word forms reduce to : present tense I/you/we/they reduce to he/she/it reduces to present participle reducing to past tense reduced to past participle reduced to 1) reduce something to something to make something change&#8230; …

    English dictionary

  • 6reduce — verb 1 (T) to make something smaller or less in size, amount, or price: We were hoping that they would reduce the rent a little. | reduce sth by half/ten percent etc: The workforce has been reduced by half. (+ to): All the shirts were reduced to&#8230; …

    Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • 7rubble — rub|ble [ rʌbl ] noun uncount broken pieces of stone and brick from buildings, walls, etc. that have been destroyed: reduce something to rubble (=destroy it completely): A bomb reduced the houses to rubble …

    Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • 8rubble — UK [ˈrʌb(ə)l] / US noun [uncountable] broken pieces of stone and brick from buildings, walls etc that have been destroyed reduce something to rubble (= destroy it completely): A bomb reduced the houses to rubble …

    English dictionary

  • 9reduce — [[t]rɪdju͟ːs, AM du͟ːs[/t]] ♦♦ reduces, reducing, reduced 1) VERB If you reduce something, you make it smaller in size or amount, or less in degree. [V n] It reduces the risks of heart disease... [V n] Consumption is being reduced by 25 per cent …

    English dictionary

  • 10reduce somebody (from something) to something doing something — reˈduce sb/sth (from sth) to sth/to doing sth derived usually passive to force sb/sth into a particular state or condition, usually a worse one • a beautiful building reduced to rubble • She was reduced to tears by their criticisms …

    Useful english dictionary