pare down

B2 neutral separable transitive

In simple words

Cut something down by taking away the parts that are not needed, until only the most important parts are left.

Literal meaning: From 'pare' (to peel a fruit or vegetable) — cutting away the outer layers down to the core; idiomatic when applied to abstract things.

Meanings

1 B2 idiomatic neutral

common

To reduce something to its minimum or most essential form by carefully removing unnecessary elements.

"The director had to pare down the original three-hour cut to under two hours for general release."

Grammar: separable

2 B2 idiomatic neutral

common

To reduce costs, a workforce, or a budget by cutting what is not essential.

"In response to falling revenue, the company pared down its workforce from 500 to 320 employees."

Grammar: separable

Usage notes

Used for budgets, text, teams, processes, and collections. The metaphor comes from paring (peeling) fruit. Implies a deliberate, sometimes difficult process of reduction. Common in business and editorial contexts.

Commonly used with

budget costs team list speech workforce

Forms

Base

pare down

I/you/we/they

3rd person

pares down

he/she/it

Past simple

pared down

yesterday

Past participle

pared down

have + pp

-ing form

paring down

continuous

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Synonyms

cut down trim down reduce streamline scale back whittle down

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