shrink
Americanverb (used without object)
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to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance.
to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact.
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to contract or lessen in size, as from exposure to conditions of temperature or moisture.
This cloth will not shrink if washed in lukewarm water.
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to become reduced in extent or scope.
- Antonyms:
- increase
verb (used with object)
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to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.
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Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.
noun
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an act or instance of shrinking.
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a shrinking movement.
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shrinkage.
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Also called head shrinker. Slang. Also a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst.
verb
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to contract or cause to contract as from wetness, heat, cold, etc
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to become or cause to become smaller in size
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to recoil or withdraw
to shrink from the sight of blood
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to feel great reluctance (at)
to shrink from killing an animal
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noun
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the act or an instance of shrinking
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slang a psychiatrist
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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shrinkernoun
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overshrinkverb
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nonshrinkableadjective
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nonshrinkingadjective
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shrinkableadjective
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shrinkingadjective
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unshrinkableadjective
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unshrinkingadjective
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nonshrinkinglyadverb
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shrinkinglyadverb
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unshrinkinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shrinksimple
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shrinkssimple
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have shrunkperfect
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have shrunkenperfect
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has shrunkperfect
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has shrunkenperfect
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am shrinkingprogressive
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are shrinkingprogressive
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is shrinkingprogressive
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have been shrinkingperfect progressive
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has been shrinkingperfect progressive
Past
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shranksimple
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shrunksimple
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had shrunkperfect
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had shrunkenperfect
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was shrinkingprogressive
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were shrinkingprogressive
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had been shrinkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shrink
First recorded before 900, and in 1955–60 shrink for def. 9; Middle English schrinken, Old English scrincan; cognate with Middle Dutch schrinken, Swedish skrynka “to shrink,” Norwegian skrukka “old shrunken woman”
Explanation
Shrink is the informal word you can use to talk about a therapist. Talking about your problems with her can hopefully help you shrink them, or make them smaller. The word shrink is related to the Swedish skrynka meaning "to wrinkle." Think about what happens to a lone forgotten fruit at the bottom of your fridge drawer. After a while, it begins to wrinkle or shrink. Clothes washed in hot water tend to shrink, so be wary of the setting on your washing machine. The use of shrink as referring to therapists started as late as the 1960s — with the idea of a psychologist being a "head-shrinker."
Vocabulary lists containing shrink
Beowulf vocabulary
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"Siberian Survivors" and "Tigers in the Wild"
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Words with Two Past-Tense Forms That Creeped (or Crept) into English
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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.
Shrink Solves Murder is for everyone, she said, but particularly those who enjoy Agatha Christie and Richard Coles novels.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
Appeared in the May 28, 2026, print edition as 'Why the Fed’s Balance Sheet Needs to Shrink'.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 27, 2026
Shrink, reduced to shoplifting, has become an all-purpose defense of executives tasked with explaining to investors why profit and margin growth may have slowed.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 14, 2023
It used patterns it found in all that text to generate recommendations: Shrink the court size to reduce the distance players need to travel in wheelchairs.
From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023
Shrink, I told myself, curling my spine down, bending my face to the task in front of me, shrink and disappear.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
