How do you pronounce decrease?

The recorded pronunciation is /dɪˈkɹiːs/.

Where does decrease come from?

It is traced to Middle English.

decrease

/dɪˈkɹiːs/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.17 in modern English

Syllables: de-crease
IPA: /dɪˈkɹiːs/

Scrabble Score

Letters

Syllables

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

Of a quantity, to become smaller.

Intransitive verb

verb

To make (a quantity) smaller.

Transitive verb

noun

An amount by which a quantity decreases or is decreased.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

A reduction in the number of stitches, usually accomplished by suspending the stitch to be decreased from another existing stitch or by knitting it together with another stitch. See Decrease (knitting).

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"The quality of our products has decreased since the main designer left."
"Let's decrease the volume a little so we can hear each other talking."
"After six years of constant growth, the company reported a slight decrease in sales last year."
"One research team has recorded Baishui’s decrease at about 27 meters per year over the last 10 years."

Etymology

From Middle English decresen, alteration of discresen, from Anglo-Norman, Old French descreistre (French: décroître), from Latin decrescere.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *ḱer- (grow), decresen, -, descreistre, decrescere

Usage

Inflected Forms

decreases (present, singular) decreasing (participle, present) decreased (participle, past) decreased (past) decreases (plural)

Derived Forms

decreasable decreasement decreaser decreasingly nondecreasing redecrease undecreased undecreasing decreaseless nondecrease

Phrases

decreasing function decreasing term assurance monotonic decreasing non-decreasing

Frequently Paired Words

decrescendo decretion increase

Synonyms

drop fall go down plummet plunge reduce shrink sink abate cut decrement lower

Antonyms

go up grow increase rise soar shoot up increment raise up gain

Rhymes With

police release increase piece peace greece lease cease luis vietnamese niece maurice