dwindle

verb

dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl 

dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-(d)liŋ 

-dᵊl-iŋ

intransitive verb

: to become steadily less : shrink

Their savings dwindled to nothing.

a dwindling population

transitive verb

: to make steadily less

Synonyms of dwindle

• reduce
• decrease
• diminish
• deplete

Choose the Right Synonym for dwindle

decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle mean to grow or make less.

decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity.

slowly decreased the amount of pressure

lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number.

has been unable to lessen her debt

diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total.

his visual acuity has diminished

reduce implies a bringing down or lowering.

you must reduce your caloric intake

abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount.

the storm abated

dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller.

their provisions dwindled slowly

Examples of dwindle in a Sentence

Our energy dwindled as the meeting dragged on.

The town's population is dwindling away.

Recent Examples on the Web

Less than an hour in, helpers were being dispatched to replenish the dwindling stock of candy. — Nathaniel Levine, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2026

Flying to San Diego With a packed helicopter and dwindling fuel, the crew decided to head to the Coast Guard station in San Diego where ambulances were waiting. — Jaimie Ding, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026

The Lakers' healthy second-half lead dwindled to six points down the stretch, but Reaves and Kessler made big players to seal the Lakers' ninth win in the last 13 meetings with their crosstown rivals. — ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026

Options may have dwindled, but there are still alluring cargo ship voyages on offer, to destinations such as Namibia, Iceland and French Polynesia. — Maureen O'Hare, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

probably frequentative of dwine to waste away, from Middle English, from Old English dwīnan; akin to Old Norse dvīna to pine away, deyja to die — more at die

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for dwindle

• brindle
• grindal
• grindle
• kindle
• spindle
• swindle
• windle
• rekindle

Kids Definition

dwindle

verb

dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl 

dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-dliŋ 

-dᵊliŋ

: to make or become less