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

Snow will continue through Thursday afternoon and evening before tapering off from northwest to southeast. —Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

The soggy weather is expected to continue through Tuesday with the heaviest downfalls tapering off by midday Monday, according to the National Weather Service. —Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2026

Widespread showers across the Bay Area on Wednesday are expected to taper off Thursday before light rain Friday morning heralds the arrival of an atmospheric river Friday afternoon. —Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 31 Dec. 2025

Snow in the central Rockies and Pacific Northwest is forecast to taper off, thoughsoutheastern New Mexico could see some accumulation Monday. —Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 28 Dec. 2025

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