depreciate
Americanverb (used with object)
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depreciates,
present (3rd person singular)
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depreciated,
past participle, past
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depreciating
present participle
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to reduce the purchasing value of (money).
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to lessen the value or price of.
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to claim depreciation on (a property) for tax purposes.
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to represent as of little value or merit; belittle.
verb (used without object)
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depreciates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
depreciated,
past participle, past
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depreciating
present participle
verb
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to reduce or decline in value or price
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(tr) to lessen the value of by derision, criticism, etc; disparage
Commonly Confused
See deprecate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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depreciatornoun
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predepreciateverb
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redepreciateverb
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underdepreciateverb (used with object)
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depreciatoryadjective
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nondepreciatingadjective
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undepreciatedadjective
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depreciatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
depreciatesimple
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depreciatessimple
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have depreciatedperfect
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has depreciatedperfect
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am depreciatingprogressive
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are depreciatingprogressive
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is depreciatingprogressive
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have been depreciatingperfect progressive
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has been depreciatingperfect progressive
Past
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depreciatedsimple
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had depreciatedperfect
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was depreciatingprogressive
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were depreciatingprogressive
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had been depreciatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of depreciate
First recorded in 1640–50; from Late Latin dēpretiātus “undervalued” (past participle of dēpretiāre; in Medieval Latin spelling dēpreciāre ), equivalent to Latin dē- “away from, out of” + preti(um) “price” + -ātus past participle suffix; see de-, price, -ate 1
Explanation
Something depreciates when it loses value. If you bought shares of a company for $10 each a year ago and now they’re worth $1 each, guess what: they have depreciated. One of the most frustrating things about buying a car is the way it loses value. As soon as you drive it off the lot, your new car has already depreciated by several thousand dollars. Though usually used like this as a financial term, depreciate can also be used as the similar-sounding but unrelated word deprecate meaning "to belittle, lower in esteem." Your teachers should not depreciate you just because you don't always know the answers to their questions!
Vocabulary lists containing depreciate
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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"The Gift of the Magi"
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How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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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:
The amount actually recovered in cases like this often falls well short of the amount embezzled - especially if the money has been spent on consumables, holidays, and luxury goods that depreciate.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
Electric vehicles depreciate in value faster than traditional cars, meaning buyers can get a good deal on a used EV that hasn’t been on the road for long.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
As a result, higher inflation now provides greater scope for the peso to depreciate, potentially pushing prices even higher.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 5, 2026
Other experts say that mobile and manufactured homes depreciate over time, especially if they are located on rented land.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 31, 2025
To raise the value of; to increase the market price of; Ð opposed to depreciate.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Noah Webster
“If it doesn’t pan out, we have just plunked down a lot of money on the table that depreciates really quickly. And the clock is ticking.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
A car’s value, meanwhile, depreciates over time, so the borrower runs a risk of becoming “upside down” on the loan, or owing more than the car is worth.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2025
Amounts owed to boxers do not gain interest or adjust for inflation once a fighter is eligible at age 50, meaning the value depreciates over time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
If the rupee depreciates, fuel costs more, with knock-on effects for goods that are transported or manufactured.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2023
There are teachers, clerks, doctors, journalists, and the like, in a most pitiable plight because they have not the means of forcing the community to pay them higher salaries as the crown depreciates.
From Europe—Whither Bound? Being Letters of Travel from the Capitals of Europe in the Year 1921 by Stephen Graham
This means that if a homeowner needs a new roof, the insurer only covers the depreciated value of the roof rather than the entire replacement cost.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026
Having sat unused in a police yard for over three years, it will have depreciated sharply - perhaps to less than half its original price.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
The yen depreciated about 17% against the dollar over the past four years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
That annual return will continue over the decades while slowly decreasing each year as the assets are depreciated, Ellis said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
All the debts owing to us would have been paid in the depreciated currency; and, therefore, I believe that England ought to have taken the lead in the introduction of a gold currency abroad.
From Money: Speech of Hon. John P. Jones, of Nevada, On the Free Coinage of Silver; in the United States Senate, May 12 and 13, 1890 by John P. (John Percival) Jones
Companies selling each other lots of AI gear but depreciating it slowly is another temporary accounting boost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
The most valuable asset you have now is time — and that is a depreciating asset for all of us.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
The most valuable asset you have now is time — and that’s a depreciating asset for all of us.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
The current wave of protests began after shopkeepers in Tehran went on strike over the rising cost of living and the depreciating value of the currency.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
A flush of crimson crept modestly to her cheeks, and she made a depreciating moue.”
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
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.
