TKG English Learner's Dictionary

decrease

decreaseverb

American /dɪ.ˈkris/ British /dɪ.ˈkriːs/ also (American) /ˈdi.kris/ stress on the first part is also heard for the verb The verb is usually stressed on the second part: dih-KREES. The noun decrease is stressed on the first part.
third-person singular decreases past tense decreased past participle decreased present participle decreasing
very commondefining vocabulary

  1. become lessbecome smaller in number, amount, or size

    intransitive [I] verb + adverb or preposition [V + adv/prep]

    Collocations

    adverb + verb decrease slightly, decrease sharply, decrease steadily, decrease gradually
    verb + preposition decrease by an amount, decrease to an amount, decrease from one amount to another

    Synonyms drop; fall

    Antonyms increase; grow

    Compare fall (more usual in speech); go down (more usual in speech)

  2. make lessmake something smaller in number, amount, or size

    transitive [T] verb + object [V + obj]

    Collocations

    verb + noun decrease the number, decrease the amount, decrease the risk, decrease costs

    Synonyms reduce (more usual when a person makes something smaller)

    Antonyms increase

Word family

  • decrease

Usage

Decrease is common in writing and in talk about numbers and amounts. In everyday speech people often say go down instead of sense 1, and reduce or cut instead of sense 2.

For translators

Pronunciation trap The verb decrease is usually stressed on the second part and the noun on the first: to dih-KREES, a DEE-krees.