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

The rate of glacier shrinkage has been increasing globally since the 1990s and at a particularly accelerated rate since 2000, according to the European Commission's monitoring body Copernicus.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

In contrast, those who continued playing their instruments did not show the same drop in memory performance or the same degree of putamen shrinkage.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026

The law’s goal of promoting national self-sufficiency in shipbuilding has been met with fleet shrinkage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

Three patients had complete tumor clearance and the majority of responders saw more than 50% tumor shrinkage.

From Barron's ● May 11, 2026

Diseases of the Ovaries and Parovarium.—The ovaries undergo striking changes at puberty, and again at the menopause, after which there is a gradual shrinkage.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various

"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

There were shrinkages of one kind and another, and living had grown much more expensive and luxurious.

From The Rise of Silas Lapham by William Dean Howells

Related Words

• contraction
• depreciation
• diminution
• reduction
• shrinking