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shrink

[ shringk ]
/ ʃrɪŋk /
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See synonyms for: shrink / shrank / shrinking / shrunken on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), shrank [shrangk] /ʃræŋk/ or, often, shrunk [shruhngk]; /ʃrʌŋk/; shrunk or shrunk·en [shruhng-kuhn]; /ˈʃrʌŋ kən/; shrink·ing.
verb (used with object), shrank [shrangk] /ʃræŋk/ or, often, shrunk [shruhngk]; /ʃrʌŋk/; shrunk or shrunk·en [shruhng-kuhn]; /ˈʃrʌŋ kən/; shrink·ing.
to cause to shrink or contract; reduce.
Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it.
noun
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Origin of shrink

First recorded before 900, and in 1955–60 for def. 9; Middle English schrinken, Old English scrincan; cognate with Middle Dutch schrinken, Swedish skrynka “to shrink,” Norwegian skrukka “old shrunken woman”

synonym study for shrink

1. See wince1. 3. See decrease.

OTHER WORDS FROM shrink

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use shrink in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for shrink

shrink
/ (ʃrɪŋk) /

verb shrinks, shrinking, shrank, shrunk, shrunk or shrunken
to contract or cause to contract as from wetness, heat, cold, etc
to become or cause to become smaller in size
(intr often foll by from)
  1. to recoil or withdrawto shrink from the sight of blood
  2. to feel great reluctance (at)to shrink from killing an animal
noun
the act or an instance of shrinking
slang a psychiatrist

Derived forms of shrink

shrinkable, adjectiveshrinker, nounshrinking, adjectiveshrinkingly, adverb

Word Origin for shrink

Old English scrincan; related to Old Norse skrokkr torso, Old Swedish skrunkin wrinkled, Old Norse hrukka a crease, Icelandic skrukka wrinkled woman
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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