ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shrink

v.
C1 Advanced Oxford US //ˈʃɹɪŋk// UK //ʃɹˈɪŋk// shrink Slang Vulgar

v. to become smaller in size or amount. You often use this when clothes get smaller after you wash them in hot water.

v. to become smaller in size, amount, or value; to contract or diminish. Intransitive in its most common sense, though it can be used transitively to describe an action that causes something to decrease in size.


SIMPLE

My favorite wool sweater started to shrink after I washed it.

CONTEXTUAL

The company's market share began to shrink as more competitors entered the industry with lower prices.

COMPLEX

Economists warn that the national workforce will continue to shrink unless the government introduces new policies to encourage immigration or support larger families.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From Middle English schrynken, from Old English sċrincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”). The sense “psychologist, psychotherapist” is a clipping of head-shrinker.

Usage

The past tense is 'shrank' and the past participle is 'shrunk'.

Pitfall

My shirt has shrankMy shirt has shrunkLearners often confuse the past tense 'shrank' with the past participle 'shrunk' required after 'have'.

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