ENGLISH
REFERENCE

shrinking

adj.
B2 Upper Intermediate US //ˈʃɹɪŋkɪŋ// UK //ʃɹˈɪŋkɪŋ// shrink·ing

adj. becoming smaller in size, amount, or value. You use this to describe things that are slowly disappearing or getting less important.

adj. becoming smaller in size, volume, or quantity. Often used as a participial adjective to describe markets, populations, or physical objects undergoing reduction.


SIMPLE

The shrinking ice caps are a sign of global warming.

CONTEXTUAL

The company struggled to maintain its profits while operating in a shrinking market with fewer customers every year.

COMPLEX

Sociologists are closely monitoring the shrinking middle class, as the widening wealth gap threatens to destabilize the long-standing social contract in many developed nations.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Origin

From shrink + -ing.

Usage

Typically used attributively before a noun to describe a continuous process of reduction.

Idioms1 entry

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