shrink
verb
, especially Southern ˈsriŋk\
, ˈsraŋk \
or shrunk\ ˈshrəŋk
, ˈsrəŋk \;
shrunk
or shrunken\ ˈshrəŋ-kən
, ˈsrəŋ- \;
shrinking
Definition of shrink
(Entry 1 of 2)
shrink
nounDefinition of shrink (Entry 2 of 2)
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Other Words from shrink
Verb
, ˈsriŋ- \
adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms for shrink
Synonyms: Verb
compress, condense, constrict, contract
Antonyms: Verb
balloon, expand, snowball, swell
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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
And fellow pop icon Beyoncé has done her share to shrink spectacles; the paparazzi snapped her in pint-sized... — Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, "From John Lennon to Beyoncé—the Strange Story of Tiny Sunglasses," 5 Mar. 2019 Mini handbags have been reigning supreme for the past few seasons, but the trend continues to shrink smaller and smaller. — Lauren Alexis Fisher, Harper's BAZAAR, "Handbags Are Getting So Small They Can Barely Fit AirPods," 26 Feb. 2019 Dortmund squandered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday, allowing its league lead to shrink to five points. — Ciaran Fahey, The Seattle Times, "Real Madrid enjoying winning run as Champions League returns," 10 Feb. 2019 Corpus luteum cysts happen when that empty follicular sac fails to shrink, instead resealing itself and allowing fluid to collect inside. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Kate Beckinsale Reveals She Went to the Hospital for a Ruptured Ovarian Cyst," 28 Jan. 2019 For-sale inventory continues to shrink in most markets. — Diana Budds, Curbed, "Elizabeth Warren doubles down on affordable housing legislation," 11 Dec. 2018 In several of the portraits, as well as in a screenshot taken by C-SPAN and screenshotted by reporter Lauren Tara LaCapra on Twitter, RBG appears to shrink away from the newest justice, who beams from the top-right of the picture. — Jenny Hollander, Marie Claire, "This New SCOTUS Photo With Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Brett Kavanaugh Is Going Viral," 30 Nov. 2018 For bad swollen tonsils, physicians will use an oral steroid to shrink swelling in the throat, says Dr. Soren. — Yerin Kim, Seventeen, "Here Are All The Signs That You Might Have Mono AKA “The Kissing Disease”," 29 Nov. 2018 The ability to rapidly shrink down to bug size (and beyond) gives Ant-Man and the Wasp tremendous advantages. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Insect-inspired microfluidics could help Ant-Man and the Wasp breathe," 18 Nov. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Once the egg is released, the empty follicle shrinks to form what's called a corpus luteum, which is supposed to make hormones to get ready for the next egg. — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, "Kate Beckinsale Reveals She Went to the Hospital for a Ruptured Ovarian Cyst," 28 Jan. 2019 This started the shrink, integrate, shrink, integrate, rinse, repeat motion that’s still going strong today. — Andy Kessler, WSJ, "The Chip That Changed the World," 26 Aug. 2018 The maximum amount of daylight is of course the first day of summer, and after that, the daylight slowly shrinks, which nobody likes to think about because some of the kids won’t even be out of school yet. — Dave Epstein, BostonGlobe.com, "Good news: 8 p.m. sunsets begin this week," 17 May 2018 Unfortunately for Ko, as the big satellite market shrinks, the pool of launchers is expanding. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Quietly, Japan has established itself as a power in the aerospace industry," 15 Nov. 2018 But as luxury goods prices continue to rise, and the number of one-percenters who move the needle shrinks, those breathing less rarefied air might be astonished to learn just how thrilling the rides have become for VVIPs. — Horacio Silva, Town & Country, "The Experience Wars: Inside the Furious Fight for the Affections (and Dollars) of the World's Biggest Spenders," 20 Sep. 2018 Not long after the match begins, a safe zone appears that steadily shrinks, forcing players into closer and closer confrontation, until only one is left standing. — Julie Muncy, Ars Technica, "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 review: War games, now with battle royale!," 19 Oct. 2018 The country has also seen its competitive edge in sectors such as automobiles, electronics and shipbuilding shrink as China steps up. — Kwanwoo Jun, WSJ, "South Korea’s Moon Looks to Reclaim Support With Plan for Big Spending Increase," 28 Aug. 2018 With wages remaining stagnant (even as the unemployment rate shrinks), gains like these can make a big difference in the stability of women's lives, long term. — refinery29.com, "The Supreme Court's Janus Ruling Is A Blow To Black Women," 27 June 2018These 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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Learn More about shrink
From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
What's the past tense of 'shrink'?
What's the past tense of 'shrink'?
Shrink, shrank, shrunk...shrinked?
Dictionary Entries near shrink
Statistics for shrink
Last Updated
16 Mar 2019
Look-up Popularity
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)
shrink
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of shrink (Entry 2 of 2)
See the full definition for shrink in the English Language Learners Dictionary
shrink
verb
\
Kids Definition of shrink
shrink
noun
\
Medical Definition of shrink
— called also headshrinker
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Comments on shrink
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