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de·crease | \ di-ˈkrēs 
, ˈdē-ˌkrēs \
, ˈdē-ˌkrēs \decreased; decreasing
Definition of decrease
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to grow progressively less (as in size, amount, number, or intensity)
Yearly sales decreased by five percent. His little remaining strength had been decreasing rapidly for two or three days preceding …— Charles Dickens
: to cause to decrease
decrease the risk of heart disease trying to decrease our use of fossil fuels
decrease
nounde·crease | \ ˈdē-ˌkrēs , di-ˈkrēs \
, di-ˈkrēs \Definition of decrease (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : the process of growing progressively less (as in size, amount, number, or intensity) : the process of decreasing a decrease in productivity
2 : an amount of diminution : reduction a decrease of 20,000 saw a 20% decrease in violent crime
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Other Words from decrease
Verb
decreasingly \ di-ˈkrē-siŋ-lē , dē- \ adverb
, dē- \ adverbSynonyms & Antonyms for decrease
Synonyms: Verb
- abate,
- de-escalate,
- dent,
- deplete,
- diminish,
- downscale,
- downsize,
- drop,
- dwindle,
- ease,
- knock down,
- lessen,
- lower,
- reduce
Synonyms: Noun
- abatement,
- decline,
- decrement,
- dent,
- depletion,
- depression,
- diminishment,
- diminution,
- drop,
- drop-off,
- fall,
- falloff,
- loss,
- reduction,
- shrinkage,
- step-down
Antonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Noun
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Examples of decrease in a Sentence
Verb
Sales decreased by five percent this year.
The driver decreased her speed as she approached the curve.
These changes will decrease our expenses. Noun
Studies report a recent decrease in traffic accidents.
Because of the injury, some decrease in mobility is to be expected.
a decrease of three dollars
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The percentage of positive tests per week decreased from 10% four weeks ago to 5% last week, likely in part because a broader range of people were being tested rather than just the very sick.
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Brieanna J. Frank, azcentral, "Arizona coronavirus update: 16,039 confirmed cases, 799 known deaths as of Saturday," 23 May 2020 That will be the case until there’s a vaccine to confer widespread immunity, as well as better testing capacity and steady declines in deaths and cases to decrease the burden on the health care system, Brown says.
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Jamie Ducharme, Time, "Is There Any Safe Way to Socialize During the Coronavirus Pandemic?," 19 May 2020 The primary purpose of the monies is to increase academic achievement for all students to decrease equitable disparities and meet students’ mental and behavioral needs in the classroom.
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oregonlive, "Two young political candidates with community service experience want to represent East Portland and Gresham in the Oregon House," 12 May 2020 In addition to increased cleaning and disinfecting around all hotels, the initiative is also helping alter procedures like check-in to decrease person-to-person contact.
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Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, "Marriott's Gift Cards Are 20% Off Right Now and Require No Commitment to Location or Date (Video)," 12 May 2020 Cocoa powder has no sweetness and nearly no fat; chocolate’s sweetness decreases and its fat increases as the percentage of cacao goes up.
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Los Angeles Times, "The science behind creating your perfect brownie," 10 May 2020 April sales tax receipts decreased 30% from April 2019 and were $239 million below the level forecast.
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Paul Egan, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan tax revenues plunge 43% in April, giving foreshadow of budget crunch," 8 May 2020 Research shows that walking is decreased in obese individuals and also declines with weight gain.
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Stefani Sassos, Ms, Rdn, Cso, Good Housekeeping, "8 Tips to Follow for When You’re Walking for Weight Loss," 5 May 2020 And then manufacturers, pressed to produce more, are decreasing the number of discrete items to maximize efficiency.
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Laura Reiley, Anchorage Daily News, "The industry says we have enough food. Here’s why some store shelves are empty anyway.," 15 Apr. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The five-round draft would be a drastic decrease from years past, when the draft would be 40 rounds.
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Anthony Fenech, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Tigers may recruit like a college team with MLB draft shortened to five rounds," 9 May 2020 Thus far, city officials project a $45 million decrease in business license taxes and $20 million less in transient lodging taxes.
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oregonlive, "Portland mayor proposes new budget, warns of layoffs without city unions agreement on furloughs, wage freezes," 8 May 2020 An analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau also showed a $313 million decrease in tax collections between July 2019 and April when compared with the same time period a year before.
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Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "State tax collections fell off a cliff in April as Wisconsin stayed home, delayed tax filings," 6 May 2020 The unit has a significant decrease from 16 total falls in 2018 to five total falls in 2019.
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Alice Adams, Houston Chronicle, "Salute to Nurses: The Houston Chronicle honors 2020's top nurse leaders," 4 May 2020 Auto insurers, such as Berkshire’s Geico, have actually returned some funds or offered premium credits to consumers as driving decreases, which could translate into fewer accidents.
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Fortune, "What to expect during Berkshire Hathaway’s ‘virtual’ annual meeting this weekend," 2 May 2020 Most notably the significant decrease in air traffic has had a clear impact.
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Popular Science, "The unexpected way COVID-19 is screwing up weather reports," 29 Apr. 2020 So, one of the ways to increase downrange energy, decrease drop and minimize wind deflection of these slow bullets is to give them sharper noses.
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Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, "2 Tricks to Make Your .30/30 More Effective Beyond 150 Yards," 29 Apr. 2020 Extrapolating further, the work makes an even heftier assumption: that a decrease in GDP can therefore be used to calculate the lost life-years of an economic crash.
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Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "How does economic collapse alter the mortality rate?," 28 Apr. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'decrease.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for decrease
decrease
verb English Language Learners Definition of decrease
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to become smaller in size, amount, number, etc.
: to make (something) smaller in size, amount, number, etc.
decrease
noun English Language Learners Definition of decrease (Entry 2 of 2)
: the act of becoming smaller or of making something smaller in size, amount, number, etc.
: the amount by which something is made smaller
See the full definition for decrease in the English Language Learners Dictionary
decrease
verbde·crease | \ di-ˈkrēs \
\decreased; decreasing
Kids Definition of decrease
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to grow less or cause to grow less
The numbers of students decreased.
decrease
nounde·crease | \ ˈdē-ˌkrēs \
\Kids Definition of decrease (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : the process of growing less
a gradual decrease in interest
2 : the amount by which something grows less
The school saw a five percent decrease in students.
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Time Traveler for decrease
The first known use of decrease was in the 14th century
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