What does "decline" mean?

1. (to decrease) to become smaller, fewer, or less in quality. 2. (to refuse) to politely say no to an invitation, offer, or request. 3. (grammar) to change the ending of a word to show its grammatical role in a sentence. 4. (a reduction) a gradual decrease in the quality, amount, or importance of something. 5. (a slope) a physical slope that goes downwards.

How do you use "decline"?

The verb takes a noun phrase as its object, usually the word or category being inflected. Often used with the preposition 'in'.

decline

v. · n.

US //dɪˈkɫaɪn// UK //dɪklˈaɪn// de·cline

1 to decrease (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to become smaller, fewer, or less in quality.

to gradually become less, smaller, or weaker. Intransitive in this sense.

Example

The number of people living in the village has declined over the last ten years.

Example

The local manufacturing industry has declined significantly as global trade patterns shifted toward digital services.
- decrease
- diminish
- dwindle
2 to refuse (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Formal

to politely say no to an invitation, offer, or request.

to refuse to accept or do something, typically in a formal or polite manner.

Example

I offered him a lift to the station, but he declined because he wanted to walk.

Example

The minister declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, citing the need for confidentiality until the final report is published.
- refuse
- reject
- turn down
- accept

Show 3 more sensesShow fewer

3 grammar (v.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Academic Science

to change the ending of a word to show its grammatical role in a sentence.

to inflect a noun, pronoun, or adjective for case, number, or gender.

Example

In Latin, you must decline nouns to show if they are the subject or the object.

Example

The student struggled to correctly decline the third-declension nouns during the advanced grammar examination.

Usage

The verb takes a noun phrase as its object, usually the word or category being inflected.

Teacher's tip

This is a technical term used in linguistics; students of Latin, German, or Greek will be familiar with the concept.
- inflect
4 a reduction (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

a gradual decrease in the quality, amount, or importance of something.

a gradual and continuous loss of strength, numbers, quality, or value.

Example

There has been a sharp decline in the price of electric cars recently.

Example

The sudden decline in biodiversity within the national park has prompted urgent calls for stricter environmental protections.

Usage

Often used with the preposition 'in'.
5 a slope (n.)
C1 Advanced Formal

a physical slope that goes downwards.

a downward slope or inclination, such as a hill or a road.

Example

The road has a steep decline, so drivers should use their brakes carefully.

Example

The hikers found the long decline into the valley much harder on their knees than the initial climb had been.
- incline
- ascent

Origin

From Middle English declinen, and ultimately Latin declīnō (“to bend, turn aside, deflect, inflect, decline”, from dē- (“down”) + clīnō (“to bend, to incline”)), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley- (English lean). The senses arrived from two separate pathways in Middle English: * The grammatical sense came from Old English declīnian, which was borrowed directly from the Latin etymon. * All senses except the grammatical sense were derived from those of Old French decliner. Old French itself borrowed the verb from Latin.