shrinkage

American  

[shring-kij] / ˈʃrɪŋ kɪdʒ /

noun

shrinkages plural

1. the act or fact of shrinking.

2. the amount or degree of shrinking.

3. reduction or depreciation in quantity, value, etc.

4. contraction of a fabric in finishing or washing.

5. the difference between the original weight of livestock and that after it has been prepared for marketing.

6. Commerce. loss of merchandise through breakage, pilferage, shoplifting, etc.

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shrinkage British  

/ ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act or fact of shrinking

2. the amount by which anything decreases in size, value, weight, etc

3. the loss in body weight during shipment and preparation of livestock for marketing as meat

4. the loss of merchandise in a retail store through theft or damage

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• shrinkages
  plural

Etymology

Origin of shrinkage

First recorded in 1790–1800; shrink + -age

Explanation

When something becomes smaller than it was before, that's shrinkage. You can see shrinkage in action when you accidentally put your favorite wool sweater in the dryer! The process of shrinking, or the amount that something has shrunk, is shrinkage. You might notice the shrinkage of your hand-knit socks when you try to put them on your feet, or read about the shrinkage of the polar ice caps in school. Another meaning of this word is "loss of inventory due to theft or shoplifting." A store's shrinkage rate sometimes improves after they install security cameras.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

shrinkage shrinkages

And, he wondered, given balance-sheet expansion that mainly works through financial markets, what if they respond poorly to further shrinkage?

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

In men, the brain showed more shrinkage earlier in the disease’s progression — from normal cognitive health to mild cognitive impairment.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 13, 2026

The shrinkage follows lackluster economic performance in 2025, which plummeted the company’s shares by 25% in February.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026

Six patients showed tumor shrinkage throughout the body.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 16, 2026

Long smears of resinous matter exuded from the rough frame boarding of its walls, and there were shrinkage rents in part of it that let the cool night air in.

From Thrice Armed by Bindloss, Harold

"Typically, it will suffer about five to 10% volume expansion or shrinkages," Wang said.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 29, 2025

There were deeper ones during the mid-70s, early-80s and the 2008 Financial Crisis that all resulted in shrinkages in the economy for two years in a row.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2024

The study revealed Sapria and Balanophora have lost 38 per cent and 28 per cent of their genomes respectively, while evolving to become holoparasitic -- record shrinkages for flowering plants.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2023

“And a majority of States forbid age discrimination by political subdivisions of any size. . . . No untoward service shrinkages have been documented.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2018

Later, as the cooling-process continued, there would be shrinkages of the earth's crust causing other fissures; intrusive granites further dislocated and upheaved the slates.

From Getting Gold: a practical treatise for prospectors, miners and students by Johnson, J. C. F. (Joseph Colin Frances)

Related Words

• contraction
• depreciation
• diminution
• reduction
• shrinking