dwindle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
dwindles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dwindled,
past participle, past
-
dwindling
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
dwindles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dwindled,
past participle, past
-
dwindling
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See decrease.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dwindlesimple
-
dwindlessimple
-
have dwindledperfect
-
has dwindledperfect
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am dwindlingprogressive
-
are dwindlingprogressive
-
is dwindlingprogressive
-
have been dwindlingperfect progressive
-
has been dwindlingperfect progressive
Past
-
dwindledsimple
-
had dwindledperfect
-
was dwindlingprogressive
-
were dwindlingprogressive
-
had been dwindlingperfect progressive
Future
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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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:
And as landslides sever access roads and supplies dwindle in several parts of the island, there are growing concerns about how much longer survivors can hold out.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Oil revenues are likely to dwindle, businesses will again delay investment and households will cut spending even further.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
If consumers pull back further as tax returns dwindle and gas prices remain elevated, those lofty expectations could become simply unrealistic.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
But as funding from cap-and-invest and the climate bond dwindle, the state must increasingly turn to Cal Fire, which devotes only a small portion of its budget to mitigation work.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026
Now Sister Ignatia’s magical stores were starting to dwindle.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
As the number of workers dwindles, he thinks that wages for young people will rise, leading more people to enter the labor force.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
But chances of finding anyone alive beneath deep rubble dwindles rapidly after a critical 72-hour window for rescuing trapped people.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
But a lack of seeds and other food for mice might mean that prey dwindles over time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
As time dwindles, the Internal Revenue Service has received over 1 million fewer income-tax returns compared to the same point a year ago.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026
‘He is lost. We must ride without him, and our hope dwindles.’
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
He spent the next decade moving from safe-house to safe-house, first protected by a loyal team of bodyguards and, when they dwindled away, by his family.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Today that lead has dwindled to just over 100,000 vehicles through July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
As those policies have dwindled, the clearing yield must rise to attract other buyers.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 2026
That also means the potential for surprise has dwindled, too.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
Then, as the tallow dwindled and the flame began to gutter in the wet wax of the candle, a hunchback approached the dais.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
The price of wool has increased more than 70% in the last year, helped in part by a smaller British flock of sheep and a dwindling of the global stockpile produced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Along with her death comes the painful realization that the chances of finding survivors are dwindling, as rescue teams continue to search for hundreds of missing people after this week's devastating 7.4 magnitude earthquake.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
I asked Dan whether he meant dwindling in health or popularity.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
Infantino would soon find out that his ranks of allies were dwindling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
“Can’t spare any time, either,” Wilem said into his rapidly dwindling meat pie.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
