decreased; decreasing
: to grow progressively less (as in size, amount, number, or intensity)
Yearly sales decreased by five percent.
His little remaining strength had been decreasing rapidly for two or three days preceding …—
Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
: to cause to decrease
decrease the risk of heart disease
trying to decrease our use of fossil fuels
1
: the process of growing progressively less (as in size, amount, number, or intensity) : the process of decreasing
a decrease in productivity
2
: an amount of diminution : reduction
a decrease of 20,000
saw a 20% decrease in violent crime
Synonyms
Examples of decrease in a Sentence
Verb
Sales decreased by five percent this year.
The driver decreased her speed as she approached the curve.
These changes will decrease our expenses.
Noun
Studies report a recent decrease in traffic accidents.
Because of the injury, some decrease in mobility is to be expected.
a decrease of three dollars
Recent Examples on the WebEmma Burleigh, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
The number of people diagnosed with active TB in San Diego County had decreased since the early 1990s when more than 400 cases were reported annually.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2024
Once boiling, decrease the heat to medium-low and add the matzo balls.
—Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
Under the plan, the state is phasing out reliance on fossil fuels, deploying green energy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2045 and decreasing oil demand by a staggering 94%.
—Thomas Catenacci, Fox News, 14 Apr. 2024
But that number has decreased significantly in recent months.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Giordano also recommended doing some mobility work, such as stretching, and using a foam roller or percussive therapy to decrease stress on the tissue and optimize recovery.
—Tiffany Ayuda, Health, 13 Apr. 2024
Once all 21 million Bitcoin have been mined, the block reward will decrease to zero.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
At the start of 2014, the rate reached upwards of 10%, a figure that slowly decreased and reflected more local job opportunities.
—Archer Guanco, Daniel Schoenherr, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2024
Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
This is a woman who is still working, at the top of her game, and feels some pressure to still look her best, but is seeing fairly dramatic changes in her skin because of estrogen loss and the subsequent decrease in collagen.
—Genevieve Monsma, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2024
The slight decrease, however, came amid a nearly 8% surge in flyers.
—S. Dev, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
This year, the department withheld the usual 10% as a baseline, then subtracted another 7% to adjust for the decrease in relative poverty.
—Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
Similarly, in Denmark, the recession towards the end of 2023 appears to have contributed to a decrease in job openings.
—Miglė Petrauskaitė, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
In South Carolina, there was a 70% decrease in abortions just one month after the state enforced a six-week limit.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
This March, the year-on-year rise was 1.7 percent, according to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies — a significant decrease from a high of 15.9 percent in March 2023.
—Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Speaking of emissions, the EIA predicts a tiny decrease in overall U.S. emissions, from all energy sources, of 0.4% this year compared to 2023 and a 3% decrease compared to 2022.
—The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
The proportion of available hybrid jobs with a salary of $100,000 or higher decreased by 40% between Q4 of 2023 and Q1 of this year, according to a new report from Ladders, a job search platform.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
The number of people diagnosed with active TB in San Diego County had decreased since the early 1990s when more than 400 cases were reported annually.
—Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Apr. 2024
Once boiling, decrease the heat to medium-low and add the matzo balls.
—Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
Under the plan, the state is phasing out reliance on fossil fuels, deploying green energy, cutting greenhouse gas emissions 85% by 2045 and decreasing oil demand by a staggering 94%.
—Thomas Catenacci, Fox News, 14 Apr. 2024
But that number has decreased significantly in recent months.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Giordano also recommended doing some mobility work, such as stretching, and using a foam roller or percussive therapy to decrease stress on the tissue and optimize recovery.
—Tiffany Ayuda, Health, 13 Apr. 2024
Once all 21 million Bitcoin have been mined, the block reward will decrease to zero.
—Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
At the start of 2014, the rate reached upwards of 10%, a figure that slowly decreased and reflected more local job opportunities.
—Archer Guanco, Daniel Schoenherr, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
Miami-Dade County’s public hospital system is going through its toughest financial hurdles in over a decade, following a decrease in transplant and other surgeries and a slowdown in payments, according to Jackson Health CEO Carlos Migoya.
—Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2024
This is a woman who is still working, at the top of her game, and feels some pressure to still look her best, but is seeing fairly dramatic changes in her skin because of estrogen loss and the subsequent decrease in collagen.
—Genevieve Monsma, Vogue, 11 Apr. 2024
The slight decrease, however, came amid a nearly 8% surge in flyers.
—S. Dev, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
This year, the department withheld the usual 10% as a baseline, then subtracted another 7% to adjust for the decrease in relative poverty.
—Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 10 Apr. 2024
Similarly, in Denmark, the recession towards the end of 2023 appears to have contributed to a decrease in job openings.
—Miglė Petrauskaitė, Fortune, 10 Apr. 2024
In South Carolina, there was a 70% decrease in abortions just one month after the state enforced a six-week limit.
—Deidre McPhillips, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
This March, the year-on-year rise was 1.7 percent, according to France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies — a significant decrease from a high of 15.9 percent in March 2023.
—Victoria Bisset, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Speaking of emissions, the EIA predicts a tiny decrease in overall U.S. emissions, from all energy sources, of 0.4% this year compared to 2023 and a 3% decrease compared to 2022.
—The Arizona Republic, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'decrease.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near decrease
Cite this Entry
“Decrease.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decrease. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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