reduce sb/sth to sth phr v 1 reduce sb to tears/silence/poverty etc to make someone cry, be silent, become poor etc 使某人流泪/沉默/贫困等: They were reduced to begging on the streets. 他们被迫在街头乞讨。 2 reduce sth to rubble/ashes/ruins to destroy something, especially a building or city, completely 使某物〔尤指建筑物或城市〕化为瓦砾/灰烬/废墟