decrease
Americanverb (used without object)
-
decreases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decreased,
past participle, past
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decreasing
present participle
verb (used with object)
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decreases,
present (3rd person singular)
-
decreased,
past participle, past
-
decreasing
present participle
noun
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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
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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
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decreasesimple
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decreasessimple
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have decreasedperfect
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has decreasedperfect
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am decreasingprogressive
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are decreasingprogressive
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is decreasingprogressive
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have been decreasingperfect progressive
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has been decreasingperfect progressive
Past
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decreasedsimple
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had decreasedperfect
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was decreasingprogressive
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were decreasingprogressive
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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
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Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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Ratios and Proportional Relationships
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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:
LNG exports will likely decrease due to shipping delays, and demand is expected to be lost to power outages and flooding, NatGasWeather.com says in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
There was a more than 60-percent decrease in the category that includes military vehicles, aircraft, ships and trains.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Enrollment declined from 440,365 to 369,830 students, a decrease of about16%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The plan is simply this: If you hit the guardrail on the high end or the low end, you will increase or decrease spending until you get back to that 85% chance of success.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026
Then I realized that when I grew taller, and my legs longer, the number of strides would decrease.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
Those efforts were followed by two years of decreases in unsheltered homelessness — the number of people living outside or in cars.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Livestock decreases due to lack of land and feed, opening up more space for crops.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
Future net interest income growth for the bank will be supported by market shares of at least 10% in most regions, which decreases earnings volatility.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
The early data pointed to increases in real estate and professional, scientific and technical services, balanced by decreases in retail trade and manufacturing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The presence of earthworms increases the nitrifying powers of the soil bacteria and decreases putrifaction of the soil.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
“Their osteoporosis has worsened, and they’ve ended up suffering compression fractures in their back as a result of the decreased density of their bones.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Truck supply has decreased due to safety enforcement, said Shelley Simpson, CEO of J.B.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Pass product unit sales through Sept. 18 for the upcoming 2026-27 North American ski season decreased about 12%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Days sold and sales dollars also decreased compared with the same time last year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
I decreased the magnification on the map a bit, then pulled back far enough to confirm that the northern edge of the hill ended in a cliff of sand and crumbling gravel.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
Turkey and the European Union each accounted for 5% during the same time period, although Russian energy exports to the EU have been decreasing.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
But recent, more precise measurements of dark energy’s strength hint that it might actually be decreasing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
The personal-consumption expenditures price index rose by 0.2% in July, after decreasing by 0.1% in June.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
One widely discussed explanation had been that GLP-1 medications cause weight loss by decreasing the activity of neurons responsible for promoting hunger.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026
During most of the movie Mrs. Reilly thought about Ignatius’ rapidly decreasing salary, the payment on the trumpet, the payment on the wrecked building, the earring, and the sign.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
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.
