downsize

[ doun-sahyz ]
See synonyms for: downsizedownsizing on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),down·sized, down·siz·ing.
  1. to design or manufacture a smaller version or type of: The automotive industry downsized its cars for improved fuel economy.

  2. to reduce in size or number; cut back: Many small businesses are forced to downsize their workforce during a slow economy.

  1. to dismiss (an employee); lay off or fire: After I was downsized from my marketing position, I took to substitute teaching to make a little money.

verb (used without object)
  1. to become smaller in size or number: The military is downsizing— reducing overseas deployments—and as a result is spending less on supplies.

  2. to move into a smaller residence: Retirees are downsizing these days, giving up oversized and empty nests for apartments that are easier to care for.

adjective
  1. Also down·sized . being of a smaller size or version: a downsize car.

Origin of downsize

1
An Americanism dating back to 1970–75; down1 + size1

Words Nearby downsize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use downsize in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for downsize

downsize

/ (ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz) /


verb-sizes, -sizing or -sized (tr)
  1. to reduce the operating costs of a company by reducing the number of people it employs

  2. to reduce the size of or produce a smaller version of (something)

  1. to upgrade (a computer system) by replacing a mainframe or minicomputer with a network of microcomputers: Compare rightsize

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for downsize

downsize

To reduce in number, especially personnel: “The company decided to downsize half the workers in the aircraft division.” It can also be used in reference to objects: “I decided to downsize my wardrobe and threw out all my old T-shirts.”

Notes for downsize

Downsize is a recent euphemism for “fire, lay off.” Company managers often use this term in an attempt to soften the blow of wide-scale layoffs.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.