taper
1to become smaller or thinner toward one end.
to grow gradually lean.
to make gradually smaller toward one end.
to reduce gradually.
gradual diminution of width or thickness in an elongated object.
gradual decrease of force, capacity, etc.
anything having a tapering form, as a spire or obelisk.
a candle, especially a very slender one.
a long wick coated with wax, tallow, or the like, as for use in lighting candles or gas.
Origin of taper
1word story For taper
A taper is a candle that narrows at one end. The corresponding verb sense “to narrow gradually toward one end” appeared in the very early 17th century; the related figurative sense “to gradually decrease or diminish” dates from the mid-19th century.
Other words from taper
- ta·per·er, noun
- ta·per·ing·ly, adverb
- un·ta·per·ing, adjective
Words that may be confused with taper
- taper , tapir
Other definitions for taper (2 of 2)
a person who records or edits magnetic tape, videotape, etc.
Origin of taper
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use taper in a sentence
Nursing often tapers off so gradually that no one in the family quite knows when it stopped.
The Bogus Breastfeeding Debate Over Nursing Older Kids | Diane Wiessinger | May 22, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTA priest, or bonze, handed us some little tapers for us to light and offer to his divinity.
A Woman's Journey Round the World | Ida PfeifferIn others wax tapers must be lighted at noon, although in the primitive ages they were held in abomination.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)They built others in other cities; but still they had a horror of tapers, lustral water, pontifical habits, etc.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10) | Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)The tail is on a level with the back, and gracefully tapers like a drum-stick, to the tuft on the end.
Domestic Animals | Richard L. Allen
Producing a couple of wax tapers, he lighted them, handed one to Coronado, and led the way into the silent Casa de Montezuma.
Overland | John William De Forest
British Dictionary definitions for taper
/ (ˈteɪpə) /
to become or cause to become narrower towards one end: the spire tapers to a point
(often foll by off) to become or cause to become smaller or less significant
a thin candle
a thin wooden or waxed strip for transferring a flame; spill
a narrowing
engineering (in conical parts) the amount of variation in the diameter per unit of length
any feeble source of light
Origin of taper
1Derived forms of taper
- taperer, noun
- tapering, adjective
- taperingly, adverb
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
Browse