shrink

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   To cause to become smaller.

   • The dryer shrank my sweater.
   • The bottom line is this: To shrink your gut, you need to start listening to it.
2. 2

   To become smaller

   To become smaller; to contract.

   • This garment will shrink when wet.
   • I have not found that water, by mixture of ashes, will shrink or draw into less room.
   • And shrink like parchment in consuming fire.
3. 3

   To cower or flinch.

   • Molly shrank away from the blows of the whip.
4. ›+ 6 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      To draw back

      To draw back; to withdraw.

      • The Libyc Hammon ſhrinks his horn,
   2. 5

      To withdraw or retire, as from danger.

      • What happier natures shrink at with affright, / The hard inhabitant contends is right.
      • They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task.
      • The other patients in the ward, all but the Texan, shrank from him with a tenderhearted aversion from the moment they set eyes on him the morning after the night he had been sneaked in.
   3. 6

      To move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.

   4. 7

      Shrinkage

      Shrinkage; contraction; recoil.

      • Yet almost with, with sudden shrink, That I had less to praise.
   5. 8

      A psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

      • You need to see a shrink, you crazy fool.
      • My shrink said that he was an enabler, bad for me.
      • I went to a shrink to analyze my dreams / She says it's lack of sex that's bringing me down
   6. 9

      Loss of inventory, for example due to shoplifting or not selling items before their…

      Loss of inventory, for example due to shoplifting or not selling items before their expiration date.

      • Assuming the retailer's shrink is average or below, and the owner is comfortable with the level of shrink, perhaps nothing more need be done except to maintain vigilance and to monitor the shrink for signs of emerging problems.

The neighborhood

• antonymexpandantonym(s) of “to cause to become smaller”
• antonymgrowantonym(s) of “to cause to become smaller”
• antonymenlargeantonym(s) of “to cause to become smaller”
• antonymstretchantonym(s) of “to cause to become smaller”