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downsize

[ doun-sahyz ]
/ ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR downsize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), down·sized, down·siz·ing.

to design or manufacture a smaller version or type of: The automotive industry downsized its cars for improved fuel economy.
to reduce in number; cut back.

adjective

Also downsized . being of a smaller size or version: a downsize car.

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Origin of downsize

An Americanism dating back to 1970–75; down1 + size1

Words nearby downsize

downs, downscale, downshift, downshifting, downside, downsize, downslide, down someone's throat, downspin, downspout, Down's syndrome
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to downsize

trim, cut back, retrench, reduce, phase out, diminish, curtail, cut down, shrink, scale down, cut, deduct, decrease, step down, phase down, roll back, scale back

Example sentences from the Web for downsize

British Dictionary definitions for downsize

downsize
/ (ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz) /

verb -sizes, -sizing or -sized (tr)

to reduce the operating costs of a company by reducing the number of people it employs
to reduce the size of or produce a smaller version of (something)
to upgrade (a computer system) by replacing a mainframe or minicomputer with a network of microcomputersCompare rightsize
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for downsize

downsize

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.”

notes for downsize

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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.