- 1[intransitive, transitive] shrink (something) to become smaller, especially when washed in water that is too hot; to make clothes, cloth, etc. smaller in this way My sweater shrank in the wash.
- 2[intransitive, transitive] to become or to make something smaller in size or amount The tumour had shrunk to the size of a pea. The market for their products is shrinking. shrink something There was a movie called ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids’. Television in a sense has shrunk the world. see also shrunken Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbconsiderably, dramatically, significantly, … prepositionby, from, to, … phrasesshrink in size See full entry
- 3[intransitive] + adv./prep. to move back or away from something because you are frightened or shocked synonym cower He shrank back against the wall as he heard them approaching. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverba little, visibly, instinctively, … verb + shrinktry to prepositionagainst, in, into, … See full entry See related entries: Fear Word OriginOld English scrincan, of Germanic origin; related to Swedish skrynka ‘to wrinkle’.Extra examples He shrank back against the wall. Households have been shrinking in size but increasing in number. I shrank back into the shadows. She shrank back in terror. She shrank from his touch. Their profits shrank by 4% last year. Their share of the market has shrunk from 14% to 5%. We are competing in a market that is shrinking fast. In some ways, the Internet has shrunk the world. The town had shrunk to the size of a village.Idioms
shrink
verbBrE BrE//ʃrɪŋk//; NAmE NAmE//ʃrɪŋk//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they shrink BrE BrE//ʃrɪŋk//; NAmE NAmE//ʃrɪŋk//
he / she / it shrinks BrE BrE//ʃrɪŋks//; NAmE NAmE//ʃrɪŋks//
past simple shrank BrE BrE//ʃræŋk//; NAmE NAmE//ʃræŋk//
past simple shrunk BrE BrE//ʃrʌŋk//; NAmE NAmE//ʃrʌŋk//
past participle shrunk BrE BrE//ʃrʌŋk//; NAmE NAmE//ʃrʌŋk//
-ing form shrinking BrE BrE//ˈʃrɪŋkɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈʃrɪŋkɪŋ//
Fear(humorous) a way of describing a very shy person Phrasal Verbsshrink from
Check pronunciation: shrink
