decrease
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
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
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have decreasedperfect
-
has decreasedperfect 3rd person singular
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has been decreasingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am decreasingprogressive 1st person singular
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are decreasingprogressive
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decreasessingular 3rd person
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is decreasingprogressive 3rd person singular
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decreasingparticiple
-
have been decreasingperfect progressive
Past
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had decreasedperfect
-
was decreasingprogressive singular
-
were decreasingprogressive plural
-
decreasedparticiple
-
had been decreasingperfect progressive
-
decreasedsimple
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.
The Foundation for Government Accountability, relying on more recent data, notes a 12% decrease in the rolls in Virginia, 6% in North Carolina and 10% in Kansas.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Appetite may decrease, oral health can worsen, chronic illnesses become more common and many older people take medicines that affect how nutrients are absorbed, used or cleared from the body.
From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2026
That’s a nearly 75% decrease from the $2.2 billion auditors recommended on 2020 returns.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 5, 2026
Scientists are clocking an increase in temperature and slight decrease in fog.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
As they expanded, the energy of the field in them would slowly decrease until the inflationary expansion changed to an expansion like that in the hot big bang model.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
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.
