shrink

verb

\ ˈshriŋk

, especially Southern ˈsriŋk\

shrank\ ˈshraŋk

, ˈsraŋk \ or shrunk\ ˈshrəŋk

, ˈsrəŋk \; shrunk or shrunken\ ˈshrəŋ-kən

, ˈsrəŋ- \; shrinking

Definition of shrink

(Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

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

2a : 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

3a : 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

shrink

noun

Definition of shrink (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the act of shrinking

2 : shrinkage

3 [ short for headshrinker ] : a clinical psychiatrist or psychologist

Other Words from shrink Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about shrink

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Synonyms & Antonyms for shrink

Synonyms: Verb

compress, condense, constrict, contract

Antonyms: Verb

balloon, expand, snowball, swell

Choose the Right Synonym for shrink

Verb

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

Examples of shrink in a Sentence

Verb

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.

Noun

He is seeing a shrink.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Typically, the moon rises at an average of 50 minutes later each day, but around the time of the autumnal equinox, that difference shrinks to just 30 minutes each day. — Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "A Rare Harvest ‘Micromoon’ Will Light Up the Sky on Friday the 13th," 11 Sep. 2019 The highest dose of Amgen’s AMG 510 shrank tumors in seven of 13 patients and the disease was stable in the remaining six, though the benefit didn’t always last. — BostonGlobe.com, "Shopify to acquire Waltham robot maker 6 River," 10 Sep. 2019 The slowdown also will shrink revenues from the new sales taxes that voters approved last year. — Andrew Kenney, The Denver Post, "Slowdown in Denver construction, auto sales means tighter budget," 9 Sep. 2019 As a result, the average trout size shrank and native zooplankton, including Daphnia, largely disappeared from the aquatic ecosystem. — Los Angeles Times, "Will Lake Tahoe’s invasive shrimp become the next mass-market health supplement?," 7 Sep. 2019 Among those who approve of the city’s efforts, his margin shrinks to 29 percent versus 27 percent. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Poll shows Gloria with big lead over Bry in 2020 race for San Diego mayor," 6 Sep. 2019 Sound waves trap small bubbles within water, making them shrink, expand, and eventually give off a flash of light. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Watch This Guy Punch Water So Hard, Light Comes Out," 6 Sep. 2019 Output in Germany shrank in the second quarter, and some economists are pencilling in another contraction in the third. — The Economist, "Mario Draghi and the ECB confront a slowing euro zone," 5 Sep. 2019 Those who have argued that the United States can withstand the weakness hitting global factories just received a shock: the American manufacturing sector shrank last month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. — Julia Horowitz, CNN, "US manufacturing contracted. Here's what comes next," 4 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Ford is under pressure to cut costs as profit shrinks and its share price remains stuck near a decade low. — Nick Kostov, WSJ, "Ford Taps Omnicom’s BBDO as Its Lead Creative Ad Agency," 8 Oct. 2018 No amount of federal student loans, or tuition increases, will do colleges and universities any good when, over the next decade, the pool of age-eligible students shrinks by 13% (by Mr. Grawe’s estimate). — Allen C. Guelzo, WSJ, "‘Restoring the Promise’ Review: High Cost, Low Yield," 24 June 2019 Climate change will make those threats even worse, as floods, drought, storms, and other types of extreme weather threaten to disrupt, and over time shrink, the global food supply. — Christopher Flavelle, BostonGlobe.com, "Climate change threatens the world’s food supply, United Nations warns," 8 Aug. 2019 The move was expected to further squeeze the country’s poor and middle class, which have seen their purchasing power shrink under the current reforms. — Washington Post, "Egypt hikes fuel prices by up to 22 %," 5 July 2019 The chips are built on TSMC's 7nm manufacturing process, a significant shrink from the 12nm process used on the Radeon RX 590, and on Nvidia's GeForce RTX 2080. — Ron Amadeo, Ars Technica, "AMD launches Navi as the $449 Radeon RX 5700 XT," 11 June 2019 For every extra thousand dollars that ends up being added to the price of Model 3, the size of the market shrinks by 1 percent to 2 percent, according to KBB. — chicagotribune.com, "Tesla Model 3 delivery day raises more questions than answers," 28 July 2017 Musk also tweeted Wednesday a reminder that the US federal tax credit for Teslas shrinks next month. — Matt Mcfarland, CNN, "Tesla's black paint just got $1,000 more expensive," 19 June 2019 As Deloitte noted in a previous report, retail is polarizing toward the high and low ends just as the same happens in American incomes and the middle class shrinks. — Marc Bain, Quartz, "US consumer spending hasn’t changed much in 30 years, with one exception," 30 May 2019

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.

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Last Updated

14 Sep 2019

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Time Traveler for shrink

The first known use of shrink was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for shrink

shrink

verb

English Language Learners Definition of shrink

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

English Language Learners Definition of shrink (Entry 2 of 2)

informal : a psychiatrist or psychologist

See the full definition for shrink in the English Language Learners Dictionary

shrink

verb

\ ˈshriŋk

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

Kids Definition of shrink

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.