scale down

1. Reduce the size or cost of, as in The owners decided to scale down wages. This expression, along with the related scale up, which refers to an increase, alludes to scale in the sense of “a fixed standard.” [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Djokovic has scaled down his playing time considerably over recent seasons, tailoring his schedule to focus on the majors.

From BBC

It’s still unclear why Tesla Diner decided to scale down its menu within such a short period of time.

From Salon

Where the zoning code had envisioned a city of 10 million people — more than New York — ordinances and ballot measures scaled down that number to 4.1 million by the 1980s.

From Los Angeles Times

Search efforts for a missing Los Angeles woman who jumped into a river to rescue her sister in Sequoia National Park have been scaled down as river conditions become increasingly unsafe, park officials say.

From Los Angeles Times

Like many Western nations, including the UK, it has scaled down its investments in its military over many years.

From BBC

Related Words

• curtail 
• cut 
• cut down 
• decrease 
• depreciate 
• devalue 
• diminish 
• downgrade 
• knock off 
• lessen 
• pare 
• slash 
• soften