dwindle
Americanverb
Synonym Usage
See decrease.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dwindle
1590–1600; dwine (now dial.) to waste away ( Middle English; Old English dwīnan; cognate with Middle Dutch dwīnen to languish, Old Norse dvīna to pine away) + -le
Explanation
What do love, money, and the earth all have in common? All can dwindle, or shrink away, if we don't handle them properly. The word dwindle has a wonderfully descriptive, almost childlike sound to it, as though it belongs in a nursery rhyme. That might help you remember the meaning, which is to shrink away gradually, like the Cheshire Cat in "Alice in Wonderland," who dwindles away until nothing is left but his grin.
Vocabulary lists containing dwindle
List 2
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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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.
"Because they're seabirds, they have one egg every year, and if they don't get those birds away, the numbers are going to dwindle very, very quickly."
From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026
Analysts say that most large companies have two to four weeks of petrochemical inventories, but that is going to dwindle in late March.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 21, 2026
How much materials for drone production Iran has stockpiled is unclear—but they will inevitably dwindle as the conflict drags on.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
The new trees dwindle as the weak die and the strong thrive.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026
He seemed to dwindle again to an old grey man, bent and troubled.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
