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

Light-bloom torture-test shots of colorful objects against completely black backgrounds also produced significant haze that tapered off gradually across the screen. —Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 6 Apr. 2026

While the series’ linear ratings have tapered off, something pretty common for serialized broadcast dramas, Memory of a Killer has become a staple on Hulu, which releases new episodes next day, regularly raking in the streamer’s Daily Top 10. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 6 Apr. 2026

Toward the afternoon, expect the rain to taper off. —Lauren Bostwick, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026

On Saturday, Ventura County could see wind gusts between 20 and 30 mph, and isolated gusts of 40 mph, starting in the mid-morning and tapering off later in the afternoon. —Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 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