tapered

[ tey-perd ]

adjective

1. becoming gradually thinner, narrower, or smaller toward one end:

   The tapered table leg has long been a classic design.

   The wine’s bouquet hit our nostrils the moment we opened the elegantly tapered bottle.

2. reduced gradually over time:

   Once the allergic reaction had been alleviated, the patient was discharged with a tapered steroid dose and scheduled for outpatient follow-up.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of taper ¹.

Other Words From

• un·ta·pered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tapered¹

First recorded in 1620–30; taper ¹( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; taper ¹( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

It includes a taper level for fading and blending as well as zero-overlap.

From Popular-Science

In sports, this is why so many tapers end with a few short, intense efforts.

From Outside Online

The lightly caffeinated beverage tapered my appetite while ensuring I had some nutrition.

From The Daily Beast

My work with students tapered off dramatically in 2010, after I had my first child.

From The Daily Beast

Emigration, which hit epic levels in the 1980s and 1990s, seems to have tapered off.

From The Daily Beast

The former OC star, 26, was channelling Hollywood chic in a tapered tuxedo and bright orange lipstick.

From The Daily Beast

Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph put their best tapered-pant-leg forward in this mock ad for the infamous pants.

From The Daily Beast

Holaf still remained by my side, and his hand did not leave the oddly-carved butt of the tapered tube-gun.

From Project Gutenberg

The wood was sharpened like a lead pencil at one end, and a groove was cut out of the tapered part to hold the ink.

From Project Gutenberg

Provide a machine screw, S, for the hole C and drill a small tapered hole in the end of the screw.

From Project Gutenberg

The end of the pipe is tapered still more by rasping off the end.

From Project Gutenberg

If the branch is tapered with the rasp as shown the joint can be made very tight.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cramped
• definite
• limited
• precarious
• precise
• slender
• slim
• small
• thin
• tight