shrink
shrink Lexical Profile
shrink Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To become or make smaller in physical size, volume, or extent, especially as a result of moisture, heat, or cold.
"If you wash that wool sweater in hot water, it will shrink to half its original size."
To become or make smaller in amount, value, scope, or resources.
"Rising production costs caused the company's profit margins to shrink significantly over the third quarter."
To draw back, cower, or recoil physically or emotionally because of fear, disgust, or reluctance.
"True leaders do not shrink from making difficult ethical decisions when circumstances demand accountability."
• noun
A psychiatrist, psychologist, or psychotherapist (used informally).
"After months of work-related stress, he decided to schedule an appointment with a shrink."
An act or instance of contracting, diminishing, or becoming smaller in size, amount, or value, especially the loss of retail inventory due to shoplifting, damage, or administrative error.
"The retail manager implemented new inventory controls to reduce annual shrink across all regional stores."
Word Nuance & Usage
In standard modern usage, the past simple form is 'shrank' and the past participle is 'shrunk' (e.g., 'The sweater shrank yesterday; it has shrunk two sizes'), though 'shrunk' is frequently used informally as a past simple tense, while 'shrunken' is reserved almost exclusively as an attributive adjective (e.g., 'a shrunken apple').
• Rhymes for shrink
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'scrincan', meaning to wither, contract, or shrivel up, derived from Proto-Germanic '*skrinkwana'. The informal noun sense referring to a psychiatrist emerged in 1960s American slang as a clipping of 'headshrinker', playfully alluding to the traditional practice of shrinking enemies' heads.