shrink
Americanverb (used without object)
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shrinks,
present (3rd person singular)
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shrunk,
past participle, past
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shrank,
past
-
shrunken,
past participle
-
shrinking
present participle
-
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)
-
shrinks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shrunk,
past participle, past
-
shrank,
past
-
shrunken,
past participle
-
shrinking
present participle
-
to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.
-
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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shrinks
plural
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an act or instance of shrinking.
-
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
-
shrunksimple
-
had shrunkperfect
-
had shrunkenperfect
-
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.
See Examples For:
“This cycle’s playbook is shrink the floating balance, because it was expensive before the hike ever arrived. … The Fed decides what rates do next. You decide how much of your life floats.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Arctic cyclones often bring unusually warm, turbulent conditions that can shrink and fracture sea ice.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
But expressions turned to anxiety and caution reigned, as the vote count progressed and the left-wing bloc's lead began to shrink.
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
Under such a formula, projects like the $800 million Arthur Ashe Stadium renovation could shrink that pool.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
It takes like ten years to put one out, and they’re working on VI. Jeez, I could be a shrink.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
The boarding becomes more frantic as the window of opportunity shrinks.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
QCDs during those pre-RMD years are quietly one of the best moves available, because every dollar you move out of your account shrinks the balance your future RMDs are calculated on.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
For Kuwait, she added, the danger is that Washington’s commitment to its defense might decline if the Pentagon permanently shrinks its footprint.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 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
I’m thinking it’s impossible for her to fit in, but she shrinks to the size of a lizard, and I put her in my backpack alongside Cocoa.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
As its subscriber base shrank, so did the package’s value as a marketing tool.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
South Africa's economy shrank in the second quarter of 2026, snapping a nearly two-year growth streak as the war in Iran weighed on domestic demand, the national statistics agency said Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
They were also potent for exactly the same reason: they took a distant argument about nationhood and shrank it down to lunch.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Ms. Frizzle often shrank her steel steed and its occupants to microscopic sizes so they could explore places they’d never seen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Day by day, week by week, little by little Shirley shrank until she was no more.
From "In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson" by Bette Bao Lord
After 1928, women's middle-distance shrunk into the shadows for the next few decades.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
According to the simulations, the heliosphere may at times have shrunk to a size smaller than Earth's orbit, temporarily leaving our planet outside the Sun's protective bubble.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 2, 2026
The number of long-term unemployed has also shrunk, however, to add to the evidence of stabilized labor market.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
Shares in the spirits giant have shrunk in value by 60% over the past five years amid a record-setting stock-market rally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
The river had shrunk to a trickle, the well was as dry as a bone.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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
On top of a degraded infrastructure, it would have to contend with a shrunken military and new threats such as drones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 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
The girl sat hunched and shrunken, staring at the candle flame, tears glistening in her eyes.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
They’re more commonly levied on older buildings and communities with shrinking financial reserves, according to Vantaca, an HOA-management platform that works with property-management companies.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Glaciers have also been shrinking at a precipitous rate, with 2025 marking the fourth consecutive year where they shed significant ice mass across all regions.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
To them, Hargitay was, prima facie, the least challenging choice amid polarizing comedians and a shrinking roster of late-night hosts.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Joe Flint breaks down how live sports’ biggest power player is forcing fans and distributors to pay more for a shrinking lineup.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
Even as the genie endeavored to free itself, Merriweather steadily reduced both their sizes, shrinking as quickly as she’d grown.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
