# decline

/dɪˈkɫaɪn/ (US) · /dɪklˈaɪn/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/decline
Updated: 2026-06-19

## Senses

### 1. to decrease

verb · CEFR B2

to become smaller, fewer, or less in quality.

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

- The number of people living in the village has declined over the last ten years.
- The local manufacturing industry has declined significantly as global trade patterns shifted toward digital services.

### 2. to refuse

verb · CEFR B2 · Formal

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

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

- I offered him a lift to the station, but he declined because he wanted to walk.
- The minister declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, citing the need for confidentiality until the final report is published.

### 3. grammar

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical · Academic

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

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

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

Teaching tip: This is a technical term used in linguistics; students of Latin, German, or Greek will be familiar with the concept.

### 4. a reduction

noun · CEFR B2

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

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

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

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a physical slope that goes downwards.

For teachers: a downward slope or inclination, such as a hill or a road.

- The road has a steep decline, so drivers should use their brakes carefully.
- The hikers found the long decline into the valley much harder on their knees than the initial climb had been.

## Examples

- The city is seeing a decline in the number of young residents.
- Economists are worried about the sharp decline in consumer spending during the last quarter of the year.
- Historians often debate whether the empire's collapse was a sudden event or the result of a long, painful decline caused by internal corruption and external pressure.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.