decrease

UK: noun: /ˈdiːkriːs/, verb: /diːˈkriːs/

US: /v. dɪˈkris; n. ˈdikris, dɪˈkris/

US: (v. di krēs′; n. dē′krēs, di krēs′)

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

decreases

v 3rd person singular

decreasing

v pres p

decreased

v past

decreased

v past p

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

de•crease /v. dɪˈkris; n. ˈdikris, dɪˈkris/   v., -creased, -creas•ing, n. 
v. 

1. to lessen, esp. by degrees;
   (cause to) diminish: [no obj ]:
   Water consumption had to decrease to avoid a drought.
   [ ~ + obj ]:
   They told us to decrease spending.

n. [countable]

2. the act or process of decreasing.
3. the amount by which a thing is lessened:
   a decrease of only 15%.

de•creas•ing, adj. [before a noun]:

decreasing interest rates.

de•creas•ing•ly, adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

de•crease  (v. di krēs′;n. dē′krēs, di krēs′), v., -creased, -creas•ing, n. 
v.i. 

1. to diminish or lessen in extent, quantity, strength, power, etc.:
   During the ten-day march across the desert their supply of water decreased rapidly.

v.t. 

2. to make less;
   cause to diminish:
   to decrease one's work load.

n. 

3. the act or process of decreasing;
   condition of being decreased;
   gradual reduction:
   a decrease in sales; a decrease in intensity.
4. the amount by which a thing is lessened:
   The decrease in sales was almost 20 percent.

• Latin dēcrēscere (dē- de- + crēscere to grow); see crescent
• Old French decreiss-, long stem of decreistre
• Middle English decres (noun, nominal), decresen (verb, verbal) 1350–1400

Synonyms

• 1. wane, lessen, fall off, decline, contract, abate.
  Decrease, diminish, dwindle, shrink imply becoming smaller or less in amount.
  Decrease commonly implies a sustained reduction in stages, esp. of bulk, size, volume, or quantity, often from some imperceptible cause or inherent process:
  The swelling decreased daily.
  Diminish usually implies the action of some external cause that keeps taking away:
  Disease caused the number of troops to diminish steadily.
  Dwindle implies an undesirable reduction by degrees, resulting in attenuation:
  His followers dwindled to a mere handful.
  Shrink esp. implies contraction through an inherent property under specific conditions:
  Many fabrics shrink in hot water.
• 3. abatement, decline, subsidence, shrinking, dwindling, ebbing.

Antonyms

• 1. increase, expand.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

decrease verb / dɪˈkriːs/

1. to diminish or cause to diminish in size, number, strength, etc

noun / ˈdiːkriːs dɪˈkriːs/

1. the act or process of diminishing; reduction
2. the amount by which something has been diminished

Etymology: 14th Century: from Old French descreistre, from Latin dēcrescere to grow less, from de- + crescere to grow

deˈcreasing adjective

deˈcreasingly adverb