taper

¹ American  

[tey-per] / ˈteɪ pər /

verb (used without object)

1. to become smaller or thinner toward one end.

2. to grow gradually lean.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make gradually smaller toward one end.

2. to reduce gradually.

noun

1. gradual diminution of width or thickness in an elongated object.

2. gradual decrease of force, capacity, etc.

3. anything having a tapering form, as a spire or obelisk.

4. a candle, especially a very slender one.

5. a long wick coated with wax, tallow, or the like, as for use in lighting candles or gas.

verb phrase

1. taper off

   1. to become gradually more slender toward one end.

   2. to cease by degrees; decrease; diminish.

      The storm is beginning to taper off now.

      I haven't stopped smoking entirely, but I'm tapering off to three cigarettes a day.

taper ² American  

[tey-per] / ˈteɪ pər /

noun

1. a person who records or edits magnetic tape, videotape, etc.

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taper British  

/ ˈteɪpə /

verb

1. to become or cause to become narrower towards one end

   the spire tapers to a point

2. (often foll by off) to become or cause to become smaller or less significant

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noun

1. a thin candle

2. a thin wooden or waxed strip for transferring a flame; spill

3. a narrowing

4. engineering (in conical parts) the amount of variation in the diameter per unit of length

5. any feeble source of light

Other Word Forms

• taperer noun
• tapering adjective
• taperingly adverb
• untapering adjective

Etymology

Origin of taper¹

First recorded before 900; from Middle English: “wax candle,” from Old English, variant of tapur, dissimilated variant of unattested papur paper

Origin of taper²

First recorded in 1980–85; tape + -er ¹

Explanation

To taper is to gradually grow smaller or more narrow or less intense. Taper is often used with the word "off." Part of the power of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is how the two walls appear to taper off into infinity. As a verb, taper can refer not just to physical objects that narrow: the weather forecast might call for heavy snow that will taper off at the end of the day, and public interest in a political scandal might taper off over time. As a noun, taper refers to a shape that narrows at one end, and it's also another word for a candle that is smaller at one end than the other. "Narrow candle" is the original meaning of the word, and it seems to derive from the Latin papyrus, which was once used to make candle wicks.

Example Sentences

“Steady precipitation will taper off to showers by late this afternoon and become confined to the mountains by late tonight,” the weather service posted in a Thursday morning forecast.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

She was on the medication for 16 weeks before she began to taper, cutting down over a period of six weeks.

From BBC • Dec. 20, 2025

Further Fed rate cuts to help support the labor market, however, are going to depend on whether inflation is about to taper off.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 17, 2025

The Fed said that it would start its balance-sheet expansion with $40 billion of securities purchases this month, with plans to taper the pace of the new buying sometime next year.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

Slowly the rush would start to taper off and we’d wind down.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah

Related Words

• abate
• dwindle
• lessen
• recede
• subside