shrink

American  

[shringk] / ʃrɪŋk /

verb (used without object)

• shrinks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shrunk,
  past participle,  past
• shrank,
  past
• shrunken,
  past participle
• shrinking
  present participle

1. to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance.

   to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact.

   Synonyms:

   quail, recoil, withdraw

2. 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.

3. to become reduced in extent or scope.

   Antonyms:

   increase

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verb (used with object)

• shrinks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• shrunk,
  past participle,  past
• shrank,
  past
• shrunken,
  past participle
• shrinking
  present participle

1. to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.

2. Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.

noun

• shrinks
  plural

1. an act or instance of shrinking.

2. a shrinking movement.

3. shrinkage.

4. Also called head shrinker.  Slang. Also a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst.

shrink British  

/ ʃrɪŋk /

verb

1. to contract or cause to contract as from wetness, heat, cold, etc

2. to become or cause to become smaller in size

3. 1. to recoil or withdraw

      to shrink from the sight of blood

   2. to feel great reluctance (at)

      to shrink from killing an animal

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noun

1. the act or an instance of shrinking

2. slang a psychiatrist

Synonym Usage

See wince ¹. See decrease.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• shrinker
  noun
• overshrink
  verb
• nonshrinkable
  adjective
• nonshrinking
  adjective
• shrinkable
  adjective
• shrinking
  adjective
• unshrinkable
  adjective
• unshrinking
  adjective
• nonshrinkingly
  adverb
• shrinkingly
  adverb
• unshrinkingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• shrinks
  plural

Participles

• shrinking
  present
• shrunk
  past
• shrunken
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• shrink
  simple
• shrinks
  simple
• have shrunk
  perfect
• have shrunken
  perfect
• has shrunk
  perfect
• has shrunken
  perfect
• am shrinking
  progressive
• are shrinking
  progressive
• is shrinking
  progressive
• have been shrinking
  perfect progressive
• has been shrinking
  perfect progressive

Past

• shrank
  simple
• shrunk
  simple
• had shrunk
  perfect
• had shrunken
  perfect
• was shrinking
  progressive
• were shrinking
  progressive
• had been shrinking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will shrink
  simple
• will have shrunk
  perfect
• will have shrunken
  perfect
• will be shrinking
  progressive
• will have been shrinking
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shrink shrinks shrank shrunk shrunken shrinking

"Foundations are sometimes built on peat bogs: if these dry out, they shrink, and cracks can appear in buildings," she said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Perhaps, even, you’d directly invest in those and the pile of assets those managers advise would shrink.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026

Now, under proposals introduced by the federal government earlier this year, tighter controls will be introduced to shrink its size and budget.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

With emigration from East Asia, Europe and Latin America set to decline, Africa will be America’s main source of labor—especially once South Asia’s population begins to shrink by the second half of the 21st century.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

There may be a solemn duty; and if it come we must not shrink from it....

From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker

And foreign workers could help fill labour shortages as the working-age population shrinks.

From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026

Plus: China’s surging clean-tech exports, lithium-free batteries, Strategic Petroleum Reserve shrinks below 300 million barrels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

Nevertheless, the claustrophobic framing shrinks an epic voyage into small-screen content made solely for a bored child to hold right up to their nose.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

If the best fleets can generate their own demand in dense markets, Uber’s aggregation value shrinks to secondary cities and overflow capacity.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

Mum's staring at the heron, appalled, as it shrinks into the lost blue.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The occupations most exposed to AI’s reach shrank by 0.2% year over year in June, according to research from ADP and Stanford University.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

The Swiss chocolate maker said a "necessary groupwide" price surge of 11.8% was one of the reasons revenue shrank in the first half of this year, particularly in the UK, Germany, and Switzerland.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

As continental shelves shrank, more phosphate entered the water.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026

The volume of Swiss glaciers shrank by 38 percent between 2000 and 2024.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

Riptide shrank back into a ballpoint pen, but now the writing point was exposed.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

But such sharp rebukes may well suggest the former first minister's standing in the party has shrunk.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

While International Monetary Fund data show that the dollar’s share of official foreign currency reserves has shrunk over the past 20 years, in more recent years, the process has flatlined.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

It has shrunk dramatically in the last 27 years, and research shows climate change is intensifying the extremely dry conditions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

While it still trails top closed-source U.S. models, the release indicates that the U.S. lead over Chinese AI labs has shrunk to roughly six to nine months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

She motioned to the river, which had shrunk to half its usual size.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

Satellite images examined by BBC Verify show shrunken glaciers, scorched areas left by wildfires, green fields turned arid and lower river levels.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

Buffett liked the monopoly status of newspapers, which has been largely destroyed over the past 20 years, leaving the industry greatly shrunken and far less profitable.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026

Browne, the fashion designer known for his shrunken suiting, recently opened two new stores on the Upper East Side, joining other labels like Khaite, Toteme, Kallmeyer and Ulla Johnson, which all had flagships downtown first.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2025

The individual beans, which resemble shrunken dates due to their wrinkly dark exterior, can also be microplaned to create a fine powder, according to a guide from Great British Chefs.

From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2025

I want to press my forehead against the window to get a better view of the houses, but it’s dark and I’m still shrunken in my seat.

From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi

The vineyard's harvests have already been shrinking over the years, dropping to around 5,000 litres -- enough for about 40,000 bottles -- compared to around 6,000 litres in the past.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

Consumer demand is shrinking because boomers — the industry’s biggest fans — are aging out of the wine market.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

The reason is that the labor force is shrinking as baby boomers continue to retire and immigration dries up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

In their worldview, a family’s shrinking purchasing power is primarily evidence of bad character.

From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026

I imagined my father’s face, his dark eyes shrinking, his mouth clamping into a frown as he turned to my mother.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• decrease
• diminish
• drop off
• dwindle
• fall off
• lessen
• narrow
• reduce
• shorten
• shrivel
• wane
• weaken
• wither