downsizing

American  

[doun-sahy-zing] / ˈdaʊnˌsaɪ zɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of reducing the number of something, such as employees or participants, usually as a cost-cutting measure.

   The company’s downsizing eliminated approximately 39% of all executive positions.

2. the act or process of replacing something larger with something smaller, such as moving into a smaller house.

   With the housing market in shambles, it would be difficult to sell our house, so downsizing is not really an option right now.

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Etymology

Origin of downsizing

downsiz(e) ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. )

Example Sentences

Now contemplating downsizing, they wanted to tackle the clutter of things accumulated over decades with their two children, Katie and Simon.

From BBC

Discovery’s sale will trigger steep job losses — at a time when the industry already has been ravaged by dramatic downsizing and the flight of productions from Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times

This points to more young people holding off on buying a first home, and seniors downsizing taking over the starter-home market.

From MarketWatch

Instead, like a still condensing sugar-saturated slop into a refined liquor, this downsizing concentrates the force of his images, shifting the mood from one of frivolity to seriousness.

From The Wall Street Journal

Others fear that state-imposed rules could lead to downsizing farms and even shipping water away to Arizona’s fast-growing cities.

From Los Angeles Times