dilution
n. C / Un. the act of making something weaker or less valuable by adding more of something else. In business, this happens when a company issues new shares, making each existing share worth a smaller part of the company.
n. the reduction in the ownership percentage or value of existing shares caused by the issuance of new stock. Often refers to the decrease in earnings per share as the total number of shares increases.
The new stock issue caused a dilution of existing shares.
Investors were concerned about the potential dilution of their holdings after the company announced a massive new round of funding.
While the capital injection was necessary for expansion, the resulting dilution left the original founders with significantly less voting power than they had initially anticipated.
Uncountable when referring to the general process; countable when referring to specific instances or calculations of value loss.