dwindle
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++dwin·dle /ˈdwɪndl/ ●○○ verb [intransitive] (also dwindle away)LESSSMALL to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller 逐渐减少，缩小，变小 The elephant population is dwindling. 大象的数量在减少。 His money had dwindled away. 他的钱在逐渐变少。dwindle to The stream has dwindled to a trickle. 这条小河变成了细流。► see thesaurus at decrease —dwindling adjective dwindling resources 日益减少的资源→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
dwindle• The money available to build new parks has dwindled.• And her rock collection is dwindling.• Since 1984, interference from the government has dwindled.• Not for nothing have the return invitations dwindled a bit over the years.• Required to spend more time with Matilda, Agnes finds that her encounters with the curate dwindle and almost cease altogether.• They start off so large and marvellous, then they dwindle away to nothing.• Discussions about texts dwindled into silence; discussions about moms threatened to turn into full-blown therapy sessions.• The country's foreign currency reserves have dwindled over the past few years.• He was simply responding to the twin pressures of dwindling tax revenues and pressing needs.• The original platoon of 30 men had dwindled to 12.• There was a vaguely Rincewind-shaped violet shadow, dwindling to a point and winking out.Origin dwindle (1500-1600) dwine “to become less”dwin·dle verbChineseSyllable
to and Corpus smaller become or gradually less and less
dwindle
dwin‧dle /ˈdwɪndl/
verb [intransitive]
The elephant population is dwindling.
His money had dwindled away.
dwindle to
The stream has dwindled to a trickle.
—dwindling adjective:
dwindling resources
▪ 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. | Support for the government is steadily declining. | 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. | 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. | 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.
dwin‧dle /ˈdwɪndl/
verb [intransitive] Date: 1500-1600
Origin: dwine 'to become less'
(also dwindle away) to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller:Origin: dwine 'to become less'
dwindle to
—dwindling adjective:
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