decrease
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
-
the act or process of decreasing; condition of being decreased; gradual reduction.
a decrease in sales;
a decrease in intensity.
- Synonyms:
- subsidence, decline, abatement
-
the amount by which a thing is lessened.
The decrease in sales was almost 20 percent.
verb
noun
-
the act or process of diminishing; reduction
-
the amount by which something has been diminished
Usage
What does decrease mean? To decrease is to lessen or become reduced in number, amount, size, or in some other way, as in Our profits will continue to decrease unless we cut costs.As a verb, decrease is also used in an active way in which someone or something is doing the decreasing, as in I’m going to decrease my hours at work or These sunglasses decrease glare. The word reduce is perhaps even more commonly used to mean the same thing.Decrease can also be used as a noun referring to a reduction, as in We are experiencing a decrease in applicants.It can also refer to the amount by which something has decreased, as in The decrease was $5,000 per year.The words decreased and decreasing can both be used as adjectives, as in a decreased appetite or decreasing sales.The opposite of decrease as both a verb and a noun is increase.Example: Sally decided to decrease her workload, which led to a decrease in stress.
Related Words
Decrease, diminish, dwindle, shrink imply becoming smaller or less in amount. Decrease commonly implies a sustained reduction in stages, especially of bulk, size, volume, or quantity, often from some imperceptible cause or inherent process: The swelling decreased daily. Diminish usually implies the action of some external cause that keeps taking away: Disease caused the number of troops to diminish steadily. Dwindle implies an undesirable reduction by degrees, resulting in attenuation: His followers dwindled to a mere handful. Shrink especially implies contraction through an inherent property under specific conditions: Many fabrics shrink in hot water.
Other Word Forms
- decreasing adjective
- decreasingly adverb
- undecreased adjective
Etymology
Origin of decrease
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb decresen, from Old French decreiss-, long stem of decreistre, from Latin dēcrēscere “to diminish,” literally “to grow down,” equivalent to dē- de- + crēscere “to grow”); noun derivative of the verb; crescent
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.
That is driven mostly by not a sudden increase in the rate at which firms lay off workers, but a sudden decrease in the rate at which they hire workers.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
According to research by Oxford Economics, every $1 decrease in wealth results in a 14-cent decrease in spending as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures index.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
Myeloma cells can also cause a reduction in overall blood cell counts, which can lead to anemia, and a decrease in normal antibodies, which can lead to compromised immunity and an increased risk of infections.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
In the last year and a half, she has reported significant progress curtailing the violence in Mexico, reporting a decrease in homicide rates by 42% from September 2024 to January 2026.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
They laughed then, uproariously, about the speed with which they had run, the pose they had assumed, the ruse they had invented to escape or decrease some threat to their manliness, their humanness.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
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.
