# minimise

Pronunciation: say "MIN-i-myz" UK /ˈmɪn.ɪ.maɪz/, US /ˈmɪn.ɪˌmaɪz/

## Verb

1. To reduce something, or bring it down to the smallest amount or degree possible.
   - Simple: To make something smaller, or as small as you can.
   - _Engineers redesigned the footbridge to minimise vibration in high winds._
   - _Careful planning minimised disruption to passengers during the engineering works._
2. To treat someone or something as less important or serious than they really are, or to make them seem so.
   - Simple: To make someone or something seem less important or serious than they really are.
   - _Survivors say officials tried to minimise what had happened to them._
   - _The minister was accused of minimising the scale of the flooding._
3. To take a window off the main area of a computer screen, shrinking it to an icon or a label.
   - Simple: To make a window on a computer screen go small, so it shows only as a small icon or label.
   - _She minimised every open program to find the file saved on her desktop._
   - _If you minimise the music player, the song keeps playing in the background._

## Origin

Formed from Latin minimus with the verb-forming suffix -ise (also spelt -ize).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/minimise (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).