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 of shrinkage

• decrease
• reduction
• dent
• decline
• drop

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

All of the cumulative regions the wave passes through, with all of the growth and shrinkages that occur, imprint themselves onto the wave, as do the initial and final gravitational potentials. —Big Think, 3 Apr. 2026

Warm water can cause slight shrinkage in linen and cotton, but won’t generally affect synthetics. —Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 1 Apr. 2026

The dramatic shrinkage of that sector, which NBCUniversal recently exited completely, left NATPE with a less-lucrative mix of constituents, mainly streaming vendors, production companies and Hispanic media specialists based in Miami. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2026

The shrinkage follows lackluster economic performance in 2025, which plummeted the company’s shares by 25% in February. —Itzel Luna, Los Angeles Times, 30 Mar. 2026

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