verb , noun
■ verb
/ dɪˈkriːs; NAmE / decrease (from sth) (to sth) to become or make sth become smaller in size, number, etc. :
[ v ]
The number of new students decreased from 210 to 160 this year.
The price of wheat has decreased by 15%.
This species of bird is decreasing in numbers every year.
a decreasing population
[ vn ]
People should decrease the amount of fat they eat.
OPP increase
■ noun
/ ˈdiːkriːs/ [ C , U ] decrease (in sth) | decrease (of sth) the process of reducing sth or the amount that sth is reduced by
SYN reduction :
There has been some decrease in military spending this year.
a decrease of nearly 6% in the number of visitors to the museum
OPP increase
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French decreis (noun), decreistre (verb), based on Latin decrescere , from de- down + crescere grow.