diminishing returns
Americannoun
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any rate of profit, production, benefits, etc., that beyond a certain point fails to increase proportionately with added investment, effort, or skill.
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Also called law of diminishing returns. Economics. the fact, often stated as a law or principle, that when any factor of production, as labor, is increased while other factors, as capital and land, are held constant in amount, the output per unit of the variable factor will eventually diminish.
plural noun
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progressively smaller rises in output resulting from the increased application of a variable input, such as labour, to a fixed quantity, as of capital or land
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the increase in the average cost of production that may arise beyond a certain point as a result of increasing the overall scale of production
Etymology
Origin of diminishing returns
First recorded in 1805–15
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.
Some of the ways that Tresnjak ups the ante on that daring have diminishing returns.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The diminishing returns of instant gratification might explain why catalogs are nearly always, according to trade publications and business journals, on the verge of a renaissance.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
It’s a case of diminishing returns: There are a lot of shows ending this month, but not much taking their place.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Wall Street is still bullish on stocks over the second half of the year but sees diminishing returns over the next six months as many of these issues play out.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
He also accepts the wages-fund theory, rejects the law of Malthus, and, although believing in the law of diminishing returns from land, regards rent as the reward for a service rendered.
From Principles Of Political Economy Abridged with Critical, Bibliographical, and Explanatory Notes, and a Sketch of the History of Political Economy by John Stuart Mill
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.
