at ‧ ro ‧ phy /ˈætrəfi/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle atrophied , present participle atrophying , third person singular atrophies ) [intransitive and transitive]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Language: Late Latin ; Origin: atrophia 'becoming smaller or weaker' , from Greek , from atrophos 'badly fed' , from trephein 'to feed' ]
if a part of the body atrophies or is atrophied, it becomes weak because of lack of use or lack of blood:
therapy to prevent the leg muscles from atrophying
—atrophy noun [uncountable]