shrink

verb \ ˈshriŋk , especially Southern ˈsriŋk \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of shrink

shrank play \ˈshraŋk, ˈsraŋk\ or shrunk play \ˈshrəŋk, ˈsrəŋk\; shrunk or shrunken play \ˈshrəŋ-kən, ˈsrəŋ-\; shrinking

intransitive verb

1 : to contract or curl up the body or part of it : huddle, cower

2 a : to contract to less extent or compass

b : to become smaller or more compacted

c : to lose substance or weight

d : to lessen in value : dwindle

3 a : to recoil instinctively (as from something painful or horrible)

shrank from the challenge

b : to hold oneself back : refrain

did not shrink from telling the truth

transitive verb

: to cause to contract or shrink; specifically : to compact (cloth) by causing to contract when subjected to washing, boiling, steaming, or other processes

—

shrinkable

play \ˈshriŋ-kə-bəl, ˈsriŋ-\ adjective

—

shrinker

noun

See shrink defined for English-language learners

See shrink defined for kids

Examples of shrink in a Sentence

The sweater shrank when it was washed.
Meat shrinks as it cooks.
The town's population shrank during the war.
Hot water shrank the sweater.
The treatment should shrink the tumor.
He shrank in horror when he saw the dead cat.

Recent Examples of shrink from the Web

Travelers flying Alaska Airlines within the next few months might want to break out the measuring tape, as the carrier is officially shrinking the size requirements for carry-on luggage.

— janine puhak, Fox News, "Alaska Airlines is shrinking the size of carry-on luggage," 10 Apr. 2018
Instead, Anderson welcomes me into a conference room with a gigantic hug and for the next hour and a half, in a manner that is part girlfriend, part shrink, gently asks probing, sometimes painful questions about my past.

— lori leibovich, Health.com, "Tracy Anderson on Self-Care: "Healthy Sex Is Better Than Any Massage"," 10 Apr. 2018
Higher payments shrink how much the city can spend on police, firefighters, parks, libraries and any new initiatives that emerge.

— david garrick, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego council approves pay raises for several hundred city workers," 9 Apr. 2018
These are not small things for a sport that has seen its numbers shrink in recent years.

— nancy armour, USA TODAY, "Tiger Woods wasn't in contention at the Masters, but that's beside the point," 8 Apr. 2018
That year, debt forced the troupe into hiatus, and when the company re-emerged in 2013, its roster had shrunk by more than half.

— brian seibert, New York Times, "Review: With ‘Dougla,’ Dance Theater of Harlem Recalls Past Glory," 8 Apr. 2018
Over the past few years, the Orioles have seen their diet of fastballs shrink at a faster rate than the rest of the league.

— jon meoli, baltimoresun.com, "Orioles' offensive approach challenged early as AL's top teams offer fewer fastballs than ever," 7 Apr. 2018
From 1976 to 2001, the average size of bamboo forest patch—the panda's preferred habitat—shrunk by around 24 percent, only recovering by 1.8 percent in the years since.

— maya wei-haas, Smithsonian, "The Science Behind the Unbearably Cute IMAX Movie “Pandas”," 6 Apr. 2018
While the overall pool of trading fees shrank, JPMorgan managed to increase its market share.

— hugh son, Bloomberg.com, "Wall Street’s Big Banks Are Waging an All-Out Technological Arms Race," 5 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'shrink.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of shrink

Middle English, from Old English scrincan; akin to Middle Dutch schrinken to draw back

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

shrink Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of shrink

contract, shrink, condense, compress, constrict, deflate mean to decrease in bulk or volume. contract applies to a drawing together of surfaces or particles or a reduction of area or length.

- caused her muscles to contract

shrink implies a contracting or a loss of material and stresses a falling short of original dimensions.

- the sweater will shrink when washed

condense implies a reducing of something homogeneous to greater compactness without significant loss of content.

- condense the essay into a paragraph

compress implies a pressing into a small compass and definite shape usually against resistance.

- compressed cotton into bales

constrict implies a tightening that reduces diameter.

- the throat is constricted by a tight collar

deflate implies a contracting by reducing the internal pressure of contained air or gas.

- deflate the balloon

recoil, shrink, flinch, wince, blench, quail mean to draw back in fear or distaste. recoil implies a start or movement away through shock, fear, or disgust.

- recoiled at the suggestion of stealing

shrink suggests an instinctive recoil through sensitiveness, scrupulousness, or cowardice.

- shrank from the unpleasant truth

flinch implies a failure to endure pain or face something dangerous or frightening with resolution.

- faced her accusers without flinching

wince suggests a slight involuntary physical reaction (such as a start or recoiling).

- winced in pain

blench implies fainthearted flinching.

- stood their ground without blenching

quail suggests shrinking and cowering in fear.

- quailed before the apparition

shrink

noun

Definition of shrink

1 : the act of shrinking

2 : shrinkage

[short for headshrinker]

: a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist

See shrink defined for English-language learners

Examples of shrink in a Sentence

He is seeing a shrink.

Recent Examples of shrink from the Web

With more people to separate mail-in ballots from envelopes, the time to tabulate them shrinks.

— rebekah l. sanders, azcentral, "Voting in 2018 might go faster than ever before, county elections chief says," 11 Apr. 2018
Continuing to serve residents at the same level is becoming increasingly difficult as state revenue shrinks and the town becomes more reliant on the local tax base, board of directors Minority Leader Cheri Eckbreth said.

— jesse leavenworth, Courant Community, "Report Shows Growing Pressure On Manchester To Maintain Services As Population Increases," 2 Apr. 2018
The social security system’s revenue shortfall widens each year as the worker-to-pensioner ratio shrinks.

— paul kiernan, WSJ, "These Developing Countries Are Getting Old Before They Get Rich, With Dire Consequences," 1 Apr. 2018
Japanese producers are unable to keep up with demand as elderly farmers are retiring without successors and as the domestic herd shrinks.

— aya takada, Bloomberg.com, "Japanese Beef Lovers Seen Boosting Imports to 17-Year High," 26 Jan. 2018
As Spanish use at home shrinks among Latino families, the language seems destined to dwindle too.

— The Economist, "Can Spanish avoid America’s language graveyard?," 28 Mar. 2018
Regulations like this tend to hit small companies the hardest, so the GDPR might also tip the scales even further toward big players like Google and Facebook, even as the overall pool of data shrinks.

— russell brandom, The Verge, "How Europe’s new privacy rule is reshaping the internet," 28 Mar. 2018
Keeping Montero as Wieters's backup is more about experience than anything else, and experience helps most in October, when margin for error shrinks.

— chelsea janes, chicagotribune.com, "Miguel Montero on Nationals: Excited to be on team 'that has a chance to win it all'," 25 Mar. 2018
The Citgo logo’s horizontal white stripes light up one by one, while the red pyramid shrinks and slowly reassumes its space.

— dave denison, BostonGlobe.com, "The Citgo sign has a dark side. Should that matter to Boston?," 8 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of shrink

1590

SHRINK Defined for English Language Learners

shrink

verb

Definition of shrink for English Language Learners

: to become smaller in amount, size, or value
: to make (something) smaller in amount, size, or value
: to quickly move away from something shocking, frightening, or disgusting

shrink

noun

Definition of shrink for English Language Learners

: a psychiatrist or psychologist

SHRINK Defined for Kids

shrink

verb \ ˈshriŋk \

Definition of shrink for Students

shrank \ˈshraŋk\ or shrunk \ˈshrəŋk\; shrunk or shrunken \ˈshrəŋ-kən\; shrinking

1 : to make or become smaller

The sweater shrank when it got wet.

2 : to curl up or move back in or as if in fear or pain

Just the thought of all this made Tom shrink back uncomfortably in his chair.
—Andrew Clements, Frindle

3 : to refrain from doing something especially because of difficulty or unpleasantness

He did not shrink from telling the truth.

Medical Dictionary

shrink

noun \ ˈshriŋk \

medical Definition of shrink

: a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist — called also headshrinker

Learn More about shrink

See words that rhyme with shrink Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for shrink Spanish Central: Translation of shrink Nglish: Translation of shrink for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of shrink for Arabic speakers

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shrink

Definition of shrink

shrinkable

shrinker

Examples of shrink in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of shrink

shrink Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

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Synonym Discussion of shrink

shrink

Definition of shrink

Examples of shrink in a Sentence

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First Known Use of shrink

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SHRINK Defined for English Language Learners

shrink

Definition of shrink for English Language Learners

shrink

Definition of shrink for English Language Learners

SHRINK Defined for Kids

shrink

Definition of shrink for Students

Medical Dictionary

shrink

medical Definition of shrink

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