redo /riː duː / (redoes , redoing , redid , redone ) VERB If you redo a piece of work, you do it again in order to improve it or change it. □ [V n] They had redone their sums.
redo|lent /re dələnt/ ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If something is redolent of something else, it has features that make you think of that other thing. [LITERARY ] □ [+ of ] …percussion instruments, redolent of Far Eastern cultures.
re|dou|ble /riː dʌ b ə l/ (redoubles , redoubling , redoubled ) VERB If you redouble your efforts, you try much harder to achieve something. If something redoubles , it increases in volume or intensity. □ [V n] The two nations redoubled their efforts to negotiate a trade agreement. □ [V ] The applause redoubled.
re|doubt /r I daʊ t/ (redoubts ) N‑COUNT A redoubt is a place or situation in which someone feels safe because they know that nobody can attack them or spoil their peace. [LITERARY ] □ …the last redoubt of hippy culture.
re|doubt|able /r I daʊ təb ə l/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe someone as redoubtable , you respect them because they have a very strong character, even though you are slightly afraid of them. □ He is a redoubtable fighter.
re|dound /r I daʊ nd/ (redounds , redounding , redounded ) VERB If an action or situation redounds to your benefit or advantage, it gives people a good impression of you or brings you something that can improve your situation. □ [V + to ] The success in the Middle East redounds to his benefit.
re d pe p|per (red peppers )
1 N‑VAR Red peppers are peppers which are sweet-tasting and can be used in cooking or eaten raw in salads.
2 N‑VAR Red pepper is a hot-tasting spicy powder made from the flesh and seeds of small, dried, red peppers. It is used for flavouring food.
re|draft /riː drɑː ft, -dræ ft/ (redrafts , redrafting , redrafted ) VERB If you redraft something you have written, you write it again in order to improve it or change it. □ [be V -ed] The speech had already been redrafted 22 times.
re|draw /riː drɔː / (redraws , redrawing , redrew , redrawn )
1 VERB If people in a position of authority redraw the boundaries or borders of a country or region, they change the borders so that the country or region covers a slightly different area than before. □ [V n] They have redrawn the country's boundaries along ethnic lines.
2 VERB If people redraw something, for example an arrangement or plan, they change it because circumstances have changed. □ [V n] With both countries experiencing economic revolutions, it is time to redraw the traditional relationship.
re|dress /r I dre s/ (redresses , redressing , redressed ) The noun is also pronounced /riː dres/ in American English. 1 VERB If you redress something such as a wrong or a complaint, you do something to correct it or to improve things for the person who has been badly treated. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] More and more victims turn to litigation to redress wrongs done to them.
2 VERB If you redress the balance or the imbalance between two things that have become unfair or unequal, you make them fair and equal again. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] We're trying to redress the balance and show teachers that spoken and written language are equally important.
3 N‑UNCOUNT Redress is money that someone pays you because they have caused you harm or loss. [FORMAL ] □ They are continuing their legal battle to seek some redress from the government.
re d ta pe N‑UNCOUNT You refer to official rules and procedures as red tape when they seem unnecessary and cause delay. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The little money that was available was tied up in bureaucratic red tape.
re|duce ◆◆◇ /r I djuː s, [AM ] -duː s/ (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 -ed] The reduced consumer demand is also affecting company profits.
2 VERB [usu passive] If someone is reduced to a weaker or inferior state, they become weaker or inferior as a result of something that happens to them. □ [be V -ed + to ] They were reduced to extreme poverty.
3 VERB [usu passive] If you say that someone is reduced to doing something, you mean that they have to do it, although it is unpleasant or embarrassing. □ [be V -ed + to ] He was reduced to begging for a living.
4 VERB [usu passive] If something is changed to a different or less complicated form, you can say that it is reduced to that form. □ [be V -ed + to ] All the buildings in the town have been reduced to rubble.
5 VERB If you reduce liquid when you are cooking, or if it reduces , it is boiled in order to make it less in quantity and thicker. □ [V n] Boil the liquid in a small saucepan to reduce it by half. □ [V ] Simmer until mixture reduces.
6 PHRASE If someone or something reduces you to tears , they make you feel so unhappy that you cry. □ The attentions of the media reduced her to tears. COLLOCATIONS reduce VERB 1
reduce + noun : amount, cost, level, rate; crime, debt, deficit; chance, risk
reduce + adverb : drastically, sharply, significantly, substantially
re|duc|ible /r I djuː s I b ə l, [AM ] -duː s-/ ADJ If you say that an idea, problem, or situation is not reducible to something simple, you mean that it is complicated and cannot be described in a simple way. [FORMAL ] □ [+ to ] The structure of the universe may not be reducible to a problem in physics.