downsize
Americanverb (used with object)
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downsizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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downsized,
past participle, past
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downsizing
present participle
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to design or manufacture a smaller version or type of.
The automotive industry downsized its cars for improved fuel economy.
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to reduce in size or number; cut back.
Many small businesses are forced to downsize their workforce during a slow economy.
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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)
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downsizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
downsized,
past participle, past
-
downsizing
present participle
-
to become smaller in size or number.
The military is downsizing— reducing overseas deployments—and as a result is spending less on supplies.
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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
verb
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to reduce the operating costs of a company by reducing the number of people it employs
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to reduce the size of or produce a smaller version of (something)
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to upgrade (a computer system) by replacing a mainframe or minicomputer with a network of microcomputers Compare rightsize
Discover More
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.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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downsizesimple
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downsizessimple
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have downsizedperfect
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has downsizedperfect
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am downsizingprogressive
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are downsizingprogressive
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is downsizingprogressive
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have been downsizingperfect progressive
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has been downsizingperfect progressive
Past
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downsizedsimple
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had downsizedperfect
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was downsizingprogressive
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were downsizingprogressive
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had been downsizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of downsize
Explanation
To downsize is to make something smaller. You might downsize your collection of vintage china by selling everything that's nicked or chipped. You can downsize the items you own by giving them away, and you can downsize your living situation by moving from a huge house to a very small apartment. When a company downsizes, it almost always means it's reducing the number of employees, making the company smaller by laying them off. This last meaning has only been around since the 1980s.
Vocabulary lists containing downsize
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 8
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A Dog Called Homeless
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
You know your own lifestyle best, but this should give you a pretty good idea if you will need to downsize later.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026
The firms downsize staff and sell off parts of the purchased company to create dividends, all while charging the purchased corporation management fees for their trouble.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Layoffs, unpaid staff furloughs and school closures probably are ahead as the leaders downsize operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
As the region's legacy automakers downsize, for instance, they are providing a source of skilled workers for defence firms, he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
My parents made it seem like they just wanted to downsize.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
The layoffs will take effect on Sept. 28 as the company downsizes its workforce in a shift to AI.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The on-site football coverage was swallowed up by cost cuts as the conference downsizes operations.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
That would give Andrew a home after he downsizes from his much larger house, Royal Lodge, which is also in a sprawling park near Windsor Castle.
From New York Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Unemployment compensation is supposed to be for workers let go for no fault of their own, such as when a business downsizes during a recession or a factory closes in a town.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2022
Such agreements will need to withstand the test of time as the company holding the department stores downsizes further, shutting down locations on which the e-commerce business relies, the sources added.
From Reuters ● Dec. 3, 2021
ING joins a swathe of banks that have downsized as part of structural reorganizations, resulting in thousands of job cuts worldwide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Now, they’ve downsized to a one-bedroom ADU in their son’s backyard in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
My wife and I have friends who downsized, moved across the country and have been paying storage fees for units they never open or empty out.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
After her children left home, the couple downsized to their current property in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire, near their family.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
After more than a decade in their two-room spread in the Aircraft Loads Laboratory, Dorothy and the remaining women had been downsized to the new office in 1251.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
Share of independent agencies Forrester predicts will “face acquisition, downsizing or closure” in 2027 as a result of pressure from ad tech and automation at clients.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
We have $500,000 in cash from downsizing, and $800,000 in home equity in our paid-off house.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
Like many others, the couple struggled with the three big downsizing obstacles: overwhelmingness, avoidance and procrastination.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Exempting the family home however much it's worth will just encourage older people to concentrate their savings in their home, prevent downsizing, and so further gum up the housing market," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“I’m even downsizing my bed so that you can fit yours in. We picked one out today.”
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
