reduce vs taper

reduce

verb
  • To bring down the size, quantity, quality, value or intensity of something; to diminish, to lower. 

  • To annul by legal means. 

  • To convert to written form. (Usage note: this verb almost always appears as "reduce to writing".) 

  • To lose weight. 

  • To perform a reduction; to restore a fracture or dislocation to the correct alignment. 

  • To bring to an inferior state or condition. 

  • To simplify an equation or formula without changing its value. 

  • To bring to an inferior rank; to degrade, to demote. 

  • To convert a syllogism to a clearer or simpler form. 

  • To add electrons / hydrogen or to remove oxygen. 

  • To humble; to conquer; to subdue; to capture. 

  • To strike off the payroll. 

  • To decrease the liquid content of food by boiling much of its water off. 

  • To produce metal from ore by removing nonmetallic elements in a smelter. 

  • To express the solution of a problem in terms of another (known) algorithm. 

  • To reform a line or column from (a square). 

taper

verb
  • To diminish gradually. 

  • To become thinner or narrower at one end. 

  • To make thinner or narrower at one end. 

  • (of a central bank) To tighten monetary policy. 

adj
  • Tapered; narrowing to a point. 

noun
  • A small light. 

  • A cone-shaped item for stretching the hole for an ear gauge (piercing). 

  • Someone who works with tape or tapes. 

  • A thin stick used for lighting candles, either a wax-coated wick or a slow-burning wooden rod. 

  • One who operates a tape machine. 

  • A slender wax candle. 

  • A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object. 

How often have the words reduce and taper occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )