taper off

verb

tapered off; tapering off; tapers off

: taper

housing starts tapered off in the fall

Synonyms of taper off

• decrease
• diminish
• subside
• die (away or down or out)
• drain (away)
• decline
• fall away
• fall
• ease
• drop (off)

Examples of taper off in a Sentence

at this time of the year, light begins to taper off a little earlier each day

Recent Examples on the Web

The rain will be tapering off and skies will be clearing in the afternoon. — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 17 July 2026

The rain was expected to taper off, but another round of showers worsened already swollen rivers and flooded rural communities near the border with Mexico that had largely been spared major damage. — Jesse Bedayn, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

After delivery, the hair starts shedding at what can seem like an alarming rate—but this will taper off in about 6 to 12 months. — Isabel Lopez, Parents, 14 July 2026

The large multi-state outbreak in 2013 went from June to August before tapering off. — Joseph Hernandez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 14 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for taper off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff

Kids Definition

taper off

verb

: to stop or lessen gradually