Decrease - English meaning

verb

(of something unpleasant or severe) become less intense or widespread.

Usage examples:

The storm suddenly abated

verb

To become less strong

Usage examples:

The storm/wind/rain has started to abate., the fighting in the area shows no sign of abating.

noun

A written or spoken agreement, especially one concerning employment, sales, or tenancy, that is intended to be enforceable by law.

Usage examples:

He has just signed a contract keeping him with the club

verb

Decrease in size, number, or range.

Usage examples:

Glass contracts as it cools

noun

A legal document that states and explains a formal agreement between two different people or groups, or the agreement itself

Usage examples:

She already has a contract for her next book with a publisher., i have no other contractual obligat…

noun

The process of becoming smaller.

Usage examples:

The general contraction of the industry did further damage to morale

noun

A reduction in size or amount

Usage examples:

[ c ] an economic contraction, [ u ] heat differences cause rapid expansion and contraction of the …

noun

A situation in which less money is being earned, spent, or invested in a market or economy

Usage examples:

Michigan's economy experienced a contraction last year., (a) contraction in sth a sharp contraction…

noun

The action or fact of reducing or restricting something.

Usage examples:

The curtailment of human rights

noun

The action of reducing or limiting something, or of stopping something before it is finished

Usage examples:

She condemned postwar curtailment of civil liberties., the policy included insurance against cancel…

verb

Make an opening, incision, or wound in (something) with a sharp-edged tool or object.

Usage examples:

He cut his toe on a sharp stone

noun

A stroke or blow given by a sharp-edged implement or by a whip or cane.

Usage examples:

He could skin an animal with a single cut of the knife

verb

Separate with or as if with an instrument

noun

An act or instance of reducing something, especially expenditure.

Usage examples:

Cutbacks in defence spending

noun

A reduction, esp. one made to save money

Usage examples:

Cutbacks in public spending are expected in the next budget.

noun

A reduction that is made to save money

Usage examples:

The company has announced cutbacks in production due to falling sales., big/drastic/severe, etc. cu…

verb

(typically of something regarded as good) become smaller, fewer, or less; decrease.

Usage examples:

The birth rate continued to decline

noun

A gradual and continuous loss of strength, numbers, quality, or value.

Usage examples:

A serious decline in bird numbers

verb

To go down in amount or quality; lessen or weaken

Usage examples:

His interest in the project declined after his wife died., her health declined quickly., [ t ] she …

verb

Make or become less.

Usage examples:

The new law is expected to diminish the government's chances

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size or importance

Usage examples:

[ i ] the threat of inflation is diminishing., [ t ] a single-payer system would diminish the burea…

verb

To reduce or be reduced in size, importance, or value

Usage examples:

If consumers start losing confidence, it will diminish demand for household goods., investors can d…

noun

A reduction in the size, extent, or importance of something.

Usage examples:

A permanent diminution in value

noun

Reduction in size or importance

Usage examples:

Diminution in regular exercise can result in a general diminution in stress levels., the company su…

noun

A decline in economic, business, or other activity.

Usage examples:

A downturn in the housing market

noun

A reduction in the amount or success of something

Usage examples:

A downturn in car sales

noun

A reduction in the amount or success of something, such as a country's economic activity

Usage examples:

Economic/market downturn thousands of workers have lost their jobs in the economic downturn., there…

verb

Let or make (something) fall vertically.

Usage examples:

The fire was caused by someone dropping a lighted cigarette

noun

A small round or pear-shaped portion of liquid that hangs or falls or adheres to a surface.

Usage examples:

The first drops of rain splashed on the ground

verb

Let fall to the ground

verb

Diminish gradually in size, amount, or strength.

Usage examples:

Traffic has dwindled to a trickle

verb

To become less in number or smaller

Usage examples:

The community had dwindled to a tenth of its former size.

verb

To gradually become less, smaller, or lower in level

Usage examples:

Dwindle from sth to sth the municipality's population has dwindled from 40,000 to 24,000., dwindlin…

noun

The movement of the tide out to sea.

Usage examples:

The tide was on the ebb

verb

(of tidewater) move away from the land; recede.

Usage examples:

The tide began to ebb

verb

When the sea or tide ebbs, it moves away from the coast and falls to a lower level.

phrasal verb

Come off

phrasal verb

To become less in number, amount, or quality

Usage examples:

Production fell off last month.

phrasal verb

To get lower in amount or level

Usage examples:

Orders have definitely fallen off in the past quarter., a fall-off in sth the company blamed the fa…

verb

Make or become less; diminish.

Usage examples:

The years have lessened the gap in age between us

verb

To become or make something smaller in amount or degree

Usage examples:

[ t ] keeping your weight down can lessen the risk of heart disease.

verb

To make something smaller, less noticeable, etc., or to become smaller, less noticeable, etc.

Usage examples:

Corporate executives are keen to embrace "green technology" in order to lessen their dependence on …

verb

Make or become less; diminish.

Usage examples:

The years have lessened the gap in age between us

verb

Present participle of lessen

Usage examples:

A healthy diet can lessen the risk of heart disease.

verb

If something lessens or is lessened, it becomes less strong

Usage examples:

A healthy diet can lessen the risk of heart disease.

idiom

Become less in amount or intensity

phrasal verb

(of something undesirable) become less intense.

Usage examples:

The rain's letting up—it'll be clear soon

phrasal verb

(esp. of something unpleasant) to become less strong or stop

Usage examples:

When the rain lets up we’ll go for a walk.

verb

Make or become lighter in weight, pressure, or severity.

Usage examples:

Efforts to lighten the burden of regulation

verb

Make or become lighter or brighter.

Usage examples:

The sky began to lighten in the east

verb

To make someone or become happier and less anxious

Usage examples:

Being with friends lightened her mood., he lost 30 pounds to lighten the burden on his knee., to li…

noun

The action of moving someone or something in a downward direction.

Usage examples:

Conditions do not allow the lowering of a rescue boat

adjective

(of the sky) dark and threatening.

Usage examples:

A day of lowering cloud

verb

Move (someone or something) in a downward direction.

Usage examples:

He watched the coffin being lowered into the ground

verb

Make smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

The need for businesses to reduce costs

verb

Make smaller

verb

To make something less in size, amount, degree, importance, or price

Usage examples:

A low-fat diet can reduce the risk of heart disease., grunn employs 17,900 people, but that number …

noun

The action or fact of making something smaller or less in amount, degree, or size.

Usage examples:

Talks on arms reduction

verb

Become or make smaller in size or amount.

Usage examples:

The workforce shrank to a thousand

noun

A psychiatrist.

Usage examples:

You should see a shrink

verb

To become smaller or cause something to become smaller

Usage examples:

[ i ] the show’s audience has shrunk in the last few months., [ t ] i shrank my sweater by putting …

noun

The process, fact, or amount of shrinking.

Usage examples:

Give long curtains good hems to allow for shrinkage

noun

The act or process of becoming smaller

Usage examples:

Financial support for the university has undergone substantial shrinkage.

noun

The process or amount by which something becomes smaller or less

Usage examples:

Conservatives are not happy about the private sector's shrinkage and the public sector's expansion.…

verb

Go down below the surface of something, especially of a liquid; become submerged.

Usage examples:

He saw the coffin sink below the surface of the waves

noun

A fixed basin with a water supply and outflow pipe.

Usage examples:

I stood at the kitchen sink

noun

Fall or descend to a lower place or level

verb

Make or become slack.

Usage examples:

He slackened his grip

verb

Present participle of slacken

Usage examples:

Slacken the reins or you'll hurt the horse's mouth., he stooped to pick it up, without slackening h…

noun

A squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people.

Usage examples:

Inner-city slums

verb

Spend time at a lower social level than one's own through curiosity or for charitable purposes.

Usage examples:

He bought some second-hand clothes, and slummed among the metropolis's underprivileged

verb

Become less intense, violent, or severe.

Usage examples:

I'll wait a few minutes until the storm subsides

verb

(of a condition) to become less strong, or (of an activity or disagreement) to become less violent

Usage examples:

When her pain didn’t subside, matt drove her to the hospital., friction between the groups subsided…

verb

(of the moon) have a progressively smaller part of its visible surface illuminated, so that it appears to decrease in size.

Usage examples:

Tory tried to see her reflection, but the moon was waning, the stars obscured by clouds.

noun

The amount by which a plank or log is bevelled or falls short of a squared shape.

Usage examples:

I cut the log into slabs without removing the outside wane