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

• 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

As other towns and cities across the United Kingdom see their high streets dwindling, Solihull’s retail and hospitality sector is booming. —Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025

Which is to say that a significant chunk of live inventory—including as many as three Finals series between 2026 and 2036—has been remanded to the ever-dwindling media platform that is cable. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 3 Oct. 2025

Trump’s approval rating will have key implications for the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races this year, where Democrats have sought to tie Republican candidates to Trump as his approval has dwindled, as well as the 2026 midterms. —Andrew Stanton, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025

Tree City Juice & Smoothie Cafe recently dwindled from three locations to a single counter at the Boise State Student Union food court, which remains active. —Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 3 Oct. 2025

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