decrement

American  

[dek-ruh-muhnt] / ˈdɛk rə mənt /

noun

1. the act or process of decreasing; gradual reduction.

2. the amount lost by reduction.

3. Mathematics. a negative increment.

4. Physics. the ratio of amplitudes of a damped harmonic motion in the course of two successive oscillations.

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decrement British  

/ ˈdɛkrɪmənt /

noun

1. the act of decreasing; diminution

2. maths a negative increment

3. physics a measure of the damping of an oscillator, expressed by the ratio of the amplitude of a cycle to its amplitude after one period

4. (of spectra) a sequence of related spectrum lines decaying in intensity, e.g. Balmer decay

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Other Word Forms

• decremental
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of decrement

First recorded in 1475–85; from Latin dēcrēmentum, equivalent to dēcrē(tus) ( see decrease) + -mentum -ment

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decrement

"There's no good evidence that it causes a long-term or permanent decrement in your memory, but it definitely interferes with people's ability to sort of encode new information."

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2022

Cummings studied 27 subjects in a four-hour-long driving simulation and found that, on average, their vigilance decreased after just under 21 minutes—a physiological phenomenon known as the vigilance decrement.

From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2018

In fact, Cummings’ team at Duke was successfully able to monitor the vigilance decrement in their research.

From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2018

It wasn’t quite a hole, but a relative decrement in the quantity of local ozone near the South Pole during a particular time of year.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2016

As the temperature of the atmosphere, observed at the port of Orotava by M. Savagi, was 22.8 degrees, the decrement of caloric was one degree every 94 toises.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 1 by Thomasina Ross

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