Shrink definition
To shrink from doing one's duty.
An example of to shrink is steaming a pot full of fresh spinach which, after steaming, will become a significantly reduced amount.
An example of to shrink is someone losing a lot of weight.
We should not shrink from making such a sacrifice.
The shadows shrank as the sun rose higher. The mountains shrank in the distance as we drove away.
The sweater shrank in the wash.
The treatment shrank the tumor.
Yet almost wish, with sudden shrink, / That I had less to praise. "” Leigh Hunt.
You need to see a shrink.
My shrink said that he was an enabler, bad for me.
His savings quickly shrank. The market for that product has been shrinking.
Other Word Forms
Noun
Origin of shrink
- Middle English shrinken to wither, shrivel up from Old English scrincan sker-2 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink").
From Wiktionary