decreasing
Americanadjective
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becoming less or fewer; diminishing.
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Mathematics. (of a function) having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than or equal to the image of the smaller point; nonincreasing.
Usage
What does decreasing mean? Decreasing is an adjective that means lessening or in decline—becoming less in number, amount, size, or in some other way. It comes from the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb decrease, which means 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. The word decreased can also be used as an adjective to describe things that have lessened or declined, as in a decreased appetite. Example: Decreasing sales have forced the company to cut costs.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of decreasing
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at decrease, -ing 2
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.
U.S. industrial production rose by 0.7% last month, after decreasing by an upwardly revised 0.3% in March.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Previous projections suggested the population would continue to grow until 2096, but now "the population is projected to peak in the 2050s before decreasing," James Robards, ONS head of household and population projections, said.
From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026
Pfeifer considers the flip side, too: “It’s possible our attention span is decreasing because we’re having fewer conversations.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
Body weight also fell by about 25%, decreasing from roughly 40 grams to around 30 grams.
From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2026
On one of the shelves, Mariam saw a collection of identical wooden dolls, arranged in a line in order of decreasing size.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
