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

Rain showers got Wednesday started for most of the Philadelphia area, but that morning precipitation will taper off through midday. — Bill Kelly, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

Rain chances continue into Thursday, with storm activity tapering off in the evening. — Kansas City Star, 3 Aug. 2026

According to Gerardo Lopez, who studies the parasite at University of Arizona, the number of cases may taper off soon. — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 24 July 2026

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