decrease - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle English decresen, alteration of discresen, from Anglo-Norman, Old French descreistre (French: décroître), from Latin decrescere.

decrease (third-person singular simple present decreases, present participle decreasing, simple past and past participle decreased)

  1. (intransitive) Of a quantity, to become smaller.
    The quality of our products has decreased since the main designer left.
  2. (transitive) To make (a quantity) smaller.
    Let's decrease the volume a little so we can hear each other talking.

become smaller — see also diminish

decrease (countable and uncountable, plural decreases)

  1. An amount by which a quantity decreases or is decreased.
    After six years of constant growth, the company reported a slight decrease in sales last year.
    One research team has recorded Baishui’s decrease at about 27 meters per year over the last 10 years.
  2. (knitting, crochet) A reduction in the number of stitches, usually accomplished by suspending the stitch to be decreased from another existing stitch or by knitting it together with another stitch. See Decrease (knitting).

amount by which a quantity decreases or is decreased