decrease
Americanverb (used without object)
-
decreases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decreased,
past participle, past
-
decreasing
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
decreases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decreased,
past participle, past
-
decreasing
present participle
noun
-
decreases
plural
-
the act or process of decreasing; condition of being decreased; gradual reduction.
a decrease in sales;
a decrease in intensity.
- Synonyms:
- subsidence, decline, abatement
-
the amount by which a thing is lessened.
The decrease in sales was almost 20 percent.
verb
noun
-
the act or process of diminishing; reduction
-
the amount by which something has been diminished
Usage
What does decrease mean? To decrease is to lessen or become reduced in number, amount, size, or in some other way, as in Our profits will continue to decrease unless we cut costs. As a verb, decrease is also used in an active way in which someone or something is doing the decreasing, as in I’m going to decrease my hours at work or These sunglasses decrease glare. The word reduce is perhaps even more commonly used to mean the same thing. Decrease can also be used as a noun referring to a reduction, as in We are experiencing a decrease in applicants. It can also refer to the amount by which something has decreased, as in The decrease was $5,000 per year. The words decreased and decreasing can both be used as adjectives, as in a decreased appetite or decreasing sales. The opposite of decrease as both a verb and a noun is increase. Example: Sally decided to decrease her workload, which led to a decrease in stress.
Synonym Usage
Decrease, diminish, dwindle, shrink imply becoming smaller or less in amount. Decrease commonly implies a sustained reduction in stages, especially of bulk, size, volume, or quantity, often from some imperceptible cause or inherent process: The swelling decreased daily. Diminish usually implies the action of some external cause that keeps taking away: Disease caused the number of troops to diminish steadily. Dwindle implies an undesirable reduction by degrees, resulting in attenuation: His followers dwindled to a mere handful. Shrink especially implies contraction through an inherent property under specific conditions: Many fabrics shrink in hot water.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
decreasesimple
-
decreasessimple
-
have decreasedperfect
-
has decreasedperfect
-
am decreasingprogressive
-
are decreasingprogressive
-
is decreasingprogressive
-
have been decreasingperfect progressive
-
has been decreasingperfect progressive
Past
-
decreasedsimple
-
had decreasedperfect
-
was decreasingprogressive
-
were decreasingprogressive
-
had been decreasingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of decrease
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb decresen, from Old French decreiss-, long stem of decreistre, from Latin dēcrēscere “to diminish,” literally “to grow down,” equivalent to dē- de- + crēscere “to grow”); noun derivative of the verb; see crescent
Explanation
Decrease means to lower or go down. If you are driving above the speed limit, you should decrease your speed or risk getting a ticket. Students always want teachers to decrease the amount of homework. The opposite of decrease is increase, which means to raise. In science, you often are measuring increases and decreases. Is there a decrease in the time it takes water to boil when you begin with water as a liquid rather than water in its ice-cube form?
Vocabulary lists containing decrease
List 2
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Ratios and Proportional Relationships
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Ratios and Proportional Relationships
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
In fact, experts generally hold that splitting the shots will decrease vaccination rates for all three diseases by erecting an unnecessary obstacle to the shots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
People viewing a partial eclipse can see the brightness of the Sun decrease and feel the temperature drop.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
At about six months old, her parents began noticing "physical delays" including a decrease in her neck strength and her feeding deteriorating.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
Colgate-Palmolive, the toothpaste and soap maker, on July 31 reported a 3% decrease in North American net sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
At first, I believed that disorder would decrease when the universe recollapsed.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Falling prices—when the price index decreases instead of increases—is called deflation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Public health experts have long advised that the combined shot offers children more protection faster, and also decreases the logistical hurdles for parents who may struggle to make multiple appointments.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The pattern has long been described as the "adiposity rebound," based on the idea that body fat first decreases and then returns.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
Others have said that while small price decreases are welcome, they appreciate the messaging it sends more.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
It starts at zero, increases to a maximum, and then decreases to zero again.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
This includes increased maintenance costs and decreased readiness windows while ships are prepared to deploy again, he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
They took longer to finish tasks that required effort, and their breakpoints decreased.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
While antisemitic incidents decreased in the U.S. overall in 2025 after reaching a record high in 2024, they have remained at elevated levels since 2021, according to a recent report by advocacy group Anti-Defamation League.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
But the uptick citywide this year contrasted sharply with Raman’s district, where homelessness actually decreased by 49%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2026
Compared to the normal brain, Algernons had decreased in weight and there was a general smoothing out of the cerebral convolutions as well as a deepening and broadening of brain fissures.
From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
They’ve read the research documenting how the outdoors, including urban green spaces, improves cognition, social connection and physical strength, while decreasing depression and anxiety in all ages, but especially seniors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
This result suggests that the approach restores the way proteins function rather than simply increasing or decreasing how much of each protein is present.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Since then, Robinhood’s customers have accounted for a decreasing portion of Kalshi’s trading volumes, analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The figures show the disease is decreasing slightly among older adults – who still make up the largest proportion of new diagnoses.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
But then a few years later, rates of execution and death sentencing were once again decreasing.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
