downsize

[doun-sahyz]

SEE MORE 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 down·sized. being of a smaller size or version: a downsize car.

Origin of downsize

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

Can be confuseddownsize fire lay off rightsize terminate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for downsize

trim, retrench, reduce, diminish, curtail, shrink, cut, deduct, decrease

Examples from the Web for downsize

Contemporary Examples of downsize

Downsize Fitness, a Chicago-based, overweight-only gym, is upsizing in a hurry.
Downsize Fitness, the Gym for Overweight Members Only
Daniel Gross
October 14, 2013
But Downsize Fitness, which requires members to be overweight, plans to make a profit by creating community.
Downsize Fitness, the Gym for Overweight Members Only
Daniel Gross
October 14, 2013
Downsize wants to grow by opening gyms under its own name and ownership, rather than selling franchises and licenses.
Downsize Fitness, the Gym for Overweight Members Only
Daniel Gross
October 14, 2013
Downsize has combined these three insights into a new business model.
Downsize Fitness, the Gym for Overweight Members Only
Daniel Gross
October 14, 2013
That short-lived golden period ended around 2000 as Hollywood began to slash budgets and downsize productions.
How OWN Got Its Groove Back
Allison Samuels
June 21, 2013

British Dictionary definitions for downsize

downsize

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

Word Origin and History for downsize

1986 in reference to companies shedding jobs; earlier (1975) in reference to U.S. automakers building smaller cars and trucks (supposedly a coinage at General Motors), from down (adv.) + size (v.). Related: Downsized; downsizing.

downsize in Culture

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.”

Note

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.