diminishing returns

plural noun

1

: a rate of yield that beyond a certain point fails to increase in proportion to additional investments of labor or capital

2

: benefits that beyond a certain point fail to increase in proportion to extended efforts

Examples of diminishing returns in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Both series peaked early and both sputtered on to diminishing returns before giving up the ghost (sorry) — at least until the IP was dusted off again, to arguable gain in the case of Scream. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2026

The law of diminishing returns doesn’t care about any of that. —Nell Derick Debevoise Dewey, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026

But none of the stories here feels potent or stirring enough on its own to work in tandem with the others, and neither a terrific pop-up appearance by Penélope Cruz nor a daft one by Glenn Close can keep so much frenzied crosscutting from reaching the point of diminishing returns. —Justin Chang, New Yorker, 27 May 2026

And so a law of diminishing returns applies to this lighter and more elusive film, for all its bright, ephemeral pleasures. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 19 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for diminishing returns

• adjourns
• concerns
• discerns
• downturns
• internes
• nocturnes
• sideburns
• churns
• earns
• ferns
• kerns
• learns