dwindle

UK: /ˈdwɪnd^əl/ US: /ˈdwɪndəl/ ,(dwin′dl)

Inflections of 'dwindle' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

dwindles

v 3rd person singular

dwindling

v pres p

dwindled

v past

dwindled

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

dwin•dle /ˈdwɪndəl/   v. [no object] , -dled, -dling. 

1. to become smaller;
   diminish:
   Our food supply began to dwindle.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

dwin•dle  (dwin′dl), v., -dled, -dling. 
v.i. 

1. to become smaller and smaller;
   shrink;
   waste away:
   His vast fortune has dwindled away.
2. to fall away, as in quality;
   degenerate.

v.t. 

3. to make smaller and smaller;
   cause to shrink:
   Failing health dwindles ambition.

• 1590–1600; dwine (now dialect, dialectal) to waste away (Middle English; Old English dwīnan; cognate with Middle Dutch dwīnen to languish, Old Norse dvīna to pine away) + -le

Synonyms

• 1. diminish, decline, lessen, wane. See decrease. 
• 3. lessen.

Antonyms

• 1. increase.
• 3. magnify.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

dwindle / ˈdwɪnd^əl/ verb

1. to grow or cause to grow less in size, intensity, or number; diminish or shrink gradually

Etymology: 16th Century: from Old English dwīnan to waste away; related to Old Norse dvīna to pine away