shrinkage

noun

shrink·​age ˈshriŋ-kij 

 especially Southern  ˈsriŋ-

1

: the act or process of shrinking

2

a

: the loss in weight of livestock during shipment and in the process of preparing the meat for consumption

b

: the loss of goods especially by theft

inventory shrinkage

3

: the amount lost by shrinkage

Synonyms

• abatement
• decline
• decrease
• decrement
• dent
• depletion
• depression
• diminishment
• diminution
• drop
• drop-off
• fall
• falloff
• loss
• reduction
• step-down

Examples of shrinkage in a Sentence

The shrinkage in contributions is significant.

a shrinkage of 10 percent

the shrinkage of the polar ice caps

Recent Examples on the Web

Therefore, there are the additional uncertainties as to which decisions will remain, what will be their results, and how the employee shrinkage will affect government operations. —John S. Tobey, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025

The breaking off of this huge iceberg is an example of the ongoing shrinkage happening at the earth's poles over the past few decades as part of climate change. —Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 13 Apr. 2025

But first, school administrators must address the immediate effects that the department’s staff shrinkage is having on district functions and the lives of their students. —Jennah Pendleton, Sacramento Bee, 14 Mar. 2025

Ambient IoT tags can be attached to individual products to track their location and condition from warehouse to store shelf, which reduces shrinkage, improves stock accuracy, and enhances customer satisfaction by ensuring product availability. —Bob Violino, CNBC, 10 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for shrinkage

• linkage

Kids Definition

shrinkage

noun

shrink·​age ˈshriŋ-kij 

: the amount by which something shrinks or becomes less