taper

¹

[tey-per]

verb (used without object)

1. to become smaller or thinner toward one end.

2. to grow gradually lean.

verb (used with object)

1. to make gradually smaller toward one end.

2. to reduce gradually.

noun

1. gradual diminution of width or thickness in an elongated object.

2. gradual decrease of force, capacity, etc.

3. anything having a tapering form, as a spire or obelisk.

4. a candle, especially a very slender one.

5. a long wick coated with wax, tallow, or the like, as for use in lighting candles or gas.

verb phrase

1. taper off

   1. to become gradually more slender toward one end.

   2. to cease by degrees; decrease; diminish.

      The storm is beginning to taper off now.

      I haven't stopped smoking entirely, but I'm tapering off to three cigarettes a day.

taper

²

[tey-per]

noun

1. a person who records or edits magnetic tape, videotape, etc.

taper

/ ˈteɪpə /

verb

1. to become or cause to become narrower towards one end

   the spire tapers to a point

2. (often foll by off) to become or cause to become smaller or less significant

noun

1. a thin candle

2. a thin wooden or waxed strip for transferring a flame; spill

3. a narrowing

4. engineering (in conical parts) the amount of variation in the diameter per unit of length

5. any feeble source of light

Other Word Forms

• taperer noun
• taperingly adverb
• untapering adjective
• tapering adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of taper¹

First recorded before 900; from Middle English: “wax candle,” from Old English, variant of tapur, dissimilated variant of unattested papur paper

Origin of taper²

First recorded in 1980–85; tape + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of taper¹

Old English tapor, probably from Latin papӯrus _papyrus (from its use as a wick)

Example Sentences

A Treasury selloff tapered off, leaving yields little changed from Friday, as Fed officials reiterated the message that a December cut is far from certain and the government shutdown kept delaying data points.

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In the late 1920s, the Sheaffer Pen Company introduced a lever-filling mechanism and a tapered shape that influenced the cigar-shaped fountain pens that came after.

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That means that most people who save for retirement in target-date funds that hold a gradually tapering mix of stocks, bonds and cash could come up short, Cederburg and his co-authors say.

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As sales growth tapered off and the company continued losing money, though, investors soured on its shares, which slid more than 80% over the course of 2022.

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These shapes, which were sometimes thousands of miles apart, weren’t natural formations: Defined by stone walls, they tapered over large stretches of terrain, ending at enclosures surrounded by curious circular shapes.

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Related Words

• abate 
• dwindle 
• lessen 
• recede 
• subside