dwin ‧ dle /ˈdwɪndl/ BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: dwine 'to become less' ]
( also dwindle away ) to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller:
The elephant population is dwindling.
His money had dwindled away.
dwindle to
The stream has dwindled to a trickle.
—dwindling adjective :
dwindling resources
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THESAURUS
▪ decrease to become less in number or amount:
The average rainfall has decreased by around 30 percent.
▪ go down to decrease. Go down is less formal than decrease and is the usual word to use in conversation:
Unemployment has gone down in the past few months.
▪ decline formal to decrease – used with numbers or amounts, or about the level or standard of something:
The standard of living has declined.
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Support for the government is steadily declining.
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Salaries have declined by around 4.5%.
▪ diminish to become smaller or less important:
Union membership diminished from 30,000 at its height to just 2,000 today.
▪ fall/drop to decrease, especially by a large amount. Fall and drop are less formal than decrease :
The number of tigers in the wild has fallen to just over 10,000.
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At night, the temperature drops to minus 20 degrees.
▪ plunge /plʌndʒ/ /plummet /ˈplʌmət, ˈplʌmɪt/ to suddenly decrease very quickly and by a very large amount:
Share prices have plummeted 29% in the last four months.
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Climate change could cause global temperatures to plummet.
▪ slide if a price or value slides, it gradually decreases in a way that causes problems – used especially in news reports:
The dollar fell in late trading in New York yesterday and slid further this morning.
▪ dwindle /ˈdwɪndl/ to gradually decrease until there is very little left of something, especially numbers or amounts, popularity, or importance:
Support for the theory is dwindling.
▪ taper off /ˈteɪpə $ -ər/ if a number or the amount of an activity that is happening tapers off, it gradually decreases, especially so that it stops completely:
Political violence tapered off after the elections.