downsize
Americanverb (used with object)
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downsizes,
present (3rd person singular)
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downsized,
past participle, past
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downsizing
present participle
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to design or manufacture a smaller version or type of.
The automotive industry downsized its cars for improved fuel economy.
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to reduce in size or number; cut back.
Many small businesses are forced to downsize their workforce during a slow economy.
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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.
verb (used without object)
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downsizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
downsized,
past participle, past
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downsizing
present participle
-
to become smaller in size or number.
The military is downsizing— reducing overseas deployments—and as a result is spending less on supplies.
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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
verb
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to reduce the operating costs of a company by reducing the number of people it employs
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to reduce the size of or produce a smaller version of (something)
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to upgrade (a computer system) by replacing a mainframe or minicomputer with a network of microcomputers Compare rightsize
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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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downsizesimple
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downsizessimple
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have downsizedperfect
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has downsizedperfect
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am downsizingprogressive
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are downsizingprogressive
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is downsizingprogressive
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have been downsizingperfect progressive
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has been downsizingperfect progressive
Past
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downsizedsimple
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had downsizedperfect
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was downsizingprogressive
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were downsizingprogressive
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had been downsizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of downsize
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.
Vocabulary lists containing downsize
"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 8
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A Dog Called Homeless
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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:
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Thursday's move to downsize the UK presence had followed a dialogue with the British government in order to avoid an escalation of tensions between the two countries.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Not that many people want coffee table art books,” said Margit Novack, founding president of the National Association of Senior and Specialty Move Managers, a professional group helping older adults organize, declutter, downsize and relocate.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The firms downsize staff and sell off parts of the purchased company to create dividends, all while charging the purchased corporation management fees for their trouble.
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026
Layoffs, unpaid staff furloughs and school closures probably are ahead as the leaders downsize operations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 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
The moving van fire once made the decision for him — everything must go! — now as he downsizes, he arranges his possessions into five piles in the basement.
From Washington Post ● May 28, 2019
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
Typically, Valeant buys a product or company, shuts down or downsizes research and development, and focuses on sales.
From Reuters ● Apr. 30, 2013
After she downsized, she opened her cupboard and showed him four plates, four saucers, four cups and four bowls.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
He was downsized, and when his unemployment benefits ran out, he began collecting Social Security one year before reaching his full retirement age.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
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
After her children left home, the couple downsized to their current property in Henley-on Thames, Oxfordshire, near their family.
From BBC ● May 28, 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
Still, higher mortgage rates make it harder to unlock home equity by downsizing and moving to a place more amenable to retirement.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
She and her husband paid for one for 15 years; now she sees storage lockers as a form of downsizing procrastination.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Now, he is hunkering down again, downsizing his fleet from five to two.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The couple avoids inflation by downsizing, using bicycles and buses instead of owning a car, and using hoarded frequent-flier miles for flights.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 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
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.
