downsize

American  

[doun-sahyz] / ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz /

verb (used with object)

• downsizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• downsized,
  past participle,  past
• downsizing
  present participle

1. to design or manufacture a smaller version or type of.

   The automotive industry downsized its cars for improved fuel economy.

2. to reduce in size or number; cut back.

   Many small businesses are forced to downsize their workforce during a slow economy.

3. to dismiss (an employee); lay off or fire.

   After I was downsized from my marketing position, I took to substitute teaching to make a little money.

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verb (used without object)

• downsizes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• downsized,
  past participle,  past
• downsizing
  present participle

1. to become smaller in size or number.

   The military is downsizing— reducing overseas deployments—and as a result is spending less on supplies.

2. to move into a smaller residence.

   Retirees are downsizing these days, giving up oversized and empty nests for apartments that are easier to care for.

adjective

1. Also downsized being of a smaller size or version.

   a downsize car.

downsize British  

/ ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz /

verb

1. to reduce the operating costs of a company by reducing the number of people it employs

2. to reduce the size of or produce a smaller version of (something)

3. to upgrade (a computer system) by replacing a mainframe or minicomputer with a network of microcomputers Compare rightsize

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downsize Cultural  

1. To reduce in number, especially personnel: “The company decided to downsize half the workers in the aircraft division.” It can also be used in reference to objects: “I decided to downsize my wardrobe and threw out all my old T-shirts.”

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Discover More

Downsize is a recent euphemism for “fire, lay off.” Company managers often use this term in an attempt to soften the blow of wide-scale layoffs.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

• downsizing
  present
• downsized
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• downsize
  simple
• downsizes
  simple
• have downsized
  perfect
• has downsized
  perfect
• am downsizing
  progressive
• are downsizing
  progressive
• is downsizing
  progressive
• have been downsizing
  perfect progressive
• has been downsizing
  perfect progressive

Past

• downsized
  simple
• had downsized
  perfect
• was downsizing
  progressive
• were downsizing
  progressive
• had been downsizing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will downsize
  simple
• will have downsized
  perfect
• will be downsizing
  progressive
• will have been downsizing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of downsize

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75; down ¹ + size ¹

Explanation

To downsize is to make something smaller. You might downsize your collection of vintage china by selling everything that's nicked or chipped. You can downsize the items you own by giving them away, and you can downsize your living situation by moving from a huge house to a very small apartment. When a company downsizes, it almost always means it's reducing the number of employees, making the company smaller by laying them off. This last meaning has only been around since the 1980s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

downsize downsizes downsized downsizing

Retirees often choose to downsize all at once.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

He suggests they potentially downsize tourism or urbanisation to protect coral -- a "difficult political question" for those who want to keep Okinawa's economy thriving.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Proponents of an LVT say that by shifting the tax burden away from homebuyers, it will encourage retirees and empty nesters to downsize and frees up housing for growing families.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

These layoffs are a part of a bigger effort to downsize Microsoft.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

My parents made it seem like they just wanted to downsize.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

The layoffs will take effect on Sept. 28 as the company downsizes its workforce in a shift to AI.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

The on-site football coverage was swallowed up by cost cuts as the conference downsizes operations.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023

Unemployment compensation is supposed to be for workers let go for no fault of their own, such as when a business downsizes during a recession or a factory closes in a town.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 2, 2022

Such agreements will need to withstand the test of time as the company holding the department stores downsizes further, shutting down locations on which the e-commerce business relies, the sources added.

From Reuters ● Dec. 3, 2021

As the military downsizes and returns to pre-war force levels or below, many of those leaving the service will take advantage of the post-9/11 GI Bill to obtain a university education.

From New York Times ● Mar. 7, 2014

There is a greater emphasis on streaming services which rely on subscriber growth, while fewer shows are being made and the number of episodes per season have been downsized.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

Compounding the problem, her record label had downsized during the pandemic, and the people who'd nurtured her first record had left.

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026

And if you take on a downsized role with a smaller paycheck, are you able to contribute to your retirement savings at the same level as before?

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 4, 2026

I should note that no one in this story is particularly wealthy — these are ordinary retired people who downsized from “family” homes.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 3, 2026

After more than a decade in their two-room spread in the Aircraft Loads Laboratory, Dorothy and the remaining women had been downsized to the new office in 1251.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Additionally, hearing of the institution’s employee strikes, dismissals and downsizing due to lower enrollments, I respectfully declined.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

Since retiring, we have settled into a slow-and-steady approach to downsizing, habitually scrutinizing drawers and closets and storage boxes anytime we open them, looking around rooms for little things to pass along.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Steel mill and other employers, can help revive Gary’s fortunes, Melton said from City Hall, a few blocks from the mill that remains the city’s largest employer despite years of downsizing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Caregivers “report depleting savings, taking on debt, paying bills late, even downsizing their homes in order to afford the cost of care,” said George Kueppers, senior research manager at the NAC.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

“Times are much, much harder with all the downsizing, but we’re still a wonderful country.”

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

Related Words

• curtail
• cut back
• cut down
• diminish
• phase out
• reduce
• retrench
• scale down
• shrink
• trim