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# minimisation

«minimisation» in Mova's school dictionary: **Making something as small as possible: «the minimisation…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (minimisation, uncountable); US spelling «minimization»

### meaning for a pupil

1) Making something as small as possible: «the minimisation of waste». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#m1)

2) (maths) Finding the smallest possible value of something under some rules. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#m2)

3) Making a problem seem less serious than it really is: «minimisation of bullying is harmful». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In maths, minimisation problems ask for the smallest cost, distance or time: for example, the shortest path on a map. In science and the environment, «waste minimisation» means producing less rubbish. In safety and wellbeing, minimising a problem (saying «it's nothing» when someone is hurt) can stop people getting help. Phrases: «waste minimisation», «risk minimisation».

### examples

- The school has a waste minimisation plan. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x1)
- Risk minimisation means wearing a helmet when cycling. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x2)
- The maths puzzle was about minimisation of the travel distance. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x3)
- Minimisation of costs helped the club save money. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x4)
- Saying «it's just teasing» can be a minimisation of bullying. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x5)
- Engineers work on the minimisation of energy use. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x6)
- Minimisation and maximisation are both kinds of optimisation. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x7)
- The minimisation of plastic packaging is good for the oceans. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/#x8)

### note

Uncountable. UK/Australia/NZ «minimisation», US/Canada «minimization». Verb: minimise/minimize. In maths, minimisation means finding the least value allowed by the rules – not always zero.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «minimisation» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/minimisation/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.