diminishing returns
A condition in which additional inputs into an organization, project or process produce progressively fewer or lower-quality additional outputs, and may, in extreme cases, cause the total quantity or quality of outputs to decrease.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Working longer hours often leads to diminishing returns.”
“We studied for six hours, but eventually hit a point of diminishing returns where we stopped learning anything new.”
“The company increased its advertising budget significantly, yet the campaign suffered from diminishing returns as the market became saturated and consumer interest plateaued.”
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many happy returns
A greeting, usually for birthdays, in reference to the passing year; Happy birthday!
- 02
return the favor
To do something for someone similar to what they did for you.
- 03
return to form
A return to a former state of success or brilliance.
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return to one's muttons
To get back to the business at hand.
- 05
returns to scale
a function describing how returns scale when production increases in the long run
Last updated August 10, 2026