shrinkage

American  

[shring-kij] / ˈʃrɪŋ kɪdʒ /

noun

• shrinkages
  plural

1. the act or fact of shrinking.

2. the amount or degree of shrinking.

3. reduction or depreciation in quantity, value, etc.

4. contraction of a fabric in finishing or washing.

5. the difference between the original weight of livestock and that after it has been prepared for marketing.

6. Commerce. loss of merchandise through breakage, pilferage, shoplifting, etc.

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shrinkage British  

/ ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act or fact of shrinking

2. the amount by which anything decreases in size, value, weight, etc

3. the loss in body weight during shipment and preparation of livestock for marketing as meat

4. the loss of merchandise in a retail store through theft or damage

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shrinkages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of shrinkage

First recorded in 1790–1800; shrink + -age

Explanation

When something becomes smaller than it was before, that's shrinkage. You can see shrinkage in action when you accidentally put your favorite wool sweater in the dryer! The process of shrinking, or the amount that something has shrunk, is shrinkage. You might notice the shrinkage of your hand-knit socks when you try to put them on your feet, or read about the shrinkage of the polar ice caps in school. Another meaning of this word is "loss of inventory due to theft or shoplifting." A store's shrinkage rate sometimes improves after they install security cameras.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shrinkage shrinkages

Small studies suggest these sprays may help memory or reduce brain shrinkage, but delivery methods remain a challenge.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026

Three patients had complete tumor clearance and the majority of responders saw more than 50% tumor shrinkage.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

Early results presented at a cancer research conference showed tumor shrinkage and slowed disease progression in patients who had few other options.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

In men, the brain showed more shrinkage earlier in the disease’s progression — from normal cognitive health to mild cognitive impairment.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026

This brings us to another consideration, inasmuch as the elasticity and the strength of the enveloping piece has great influence in determining how much to allow for a driving, forcing, or a shrinkage fit.

From Modern Machine-Shop Practice, Volumes I and II by Joshua Rose

"Typically, it will suffer about five to 10% volume expansion or shrinkages," Wang said.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 29, 2025

There were deeper ones during the mid-70s, early-80s and the 2008 Financial Crisis that all resulted in shrinkages in the economy for two years in a row.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2024

The study revealed Sapria and Balanophora have lost 38 per cent and 28 per cent of their genomes respectively, while evolving to become holoparasitic -- record shrinkages for flowering plants.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2023

“And a majority of States forbid age discrimination by political subdivisions of any size. . . . No untoward service shrinkages have been documented.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2018

This is much to be regretted, but retrenchment was enforced by revenue shrinkages and the dislocation temporarily caused by federal union.

From Our First Half-Century: A Review of Queensland Progress Based Upon Official Information by Queensland

Related Words

• contraction
• depreciation
• diminution
• reduction
• shrinking