Dwindle - English meaning

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…

verb

Make or become smaller or fewer in size, amount, intensity, or degree.

Usage examples:

The population of the area has decreased radically

noun

An instance or example of becoming smaller or fewer.

Usage examples:

A decrease in births

verb

To become smaller or make something less

Usage examples:

[ i ] car sales decreased sharply this year., i haven’t noticed any decrease in ticket sales.

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…

verb

Cease to be visible.

Usage examples:

He disappeared into the trees

verb

(of a person or thing) to go to a place or into a condition where the person or thing cannot be seen

Usage examples:

She disappeared into the house., he disappeared for a few hours (= went somewhere unknown)., they w…

verb

If people or things disappear, they go somewhere where they cannot be seen or found

Usage examples:

The search was called off for the sailors who disappeared in the storm., i can't find my keys anywh…

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

Move from a higher to a lower level, typically rapidly and without control.

Usage examples:

Five inches of snow fell through the night

noun

An act of falling or collapsing.

Usage examples:

His mother had a fall as she alighted from a train

verb

Descend freely under the influence of gravity

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

Fall or drop straight down at high speed.

Usage examples:

A climber was killed when he plummeted 300 feet down an icy gully

noun

A steep and rapid fall or drop.

Usage examples:

The bird has a circular display flight followed by an earthward plummet

verb

To fall very quickly and suddenly

Usage examples:

Temperatures plummeted last night., the parachute failed to open and he plummeted to 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 …

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 …

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

Sit, lean, or fall heavily and limply.

Usage examples:

She slumped against the cushions

noun

A sudden severe or prolonged fall in the price, value, or amount of something.

Usage examples:

A slump in profits

verb

To fall heavily and suddenly

Usage examples:

She slumped to the floor in a faint., the old man slumped in his chair, asleep., we both slumped ag…

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