Decrease

How to spell decrease

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce decrease

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does decrease mean?

1. verbTo become smaller or fewer, or to make something smaller or fewer.
2. nounA reduction in the size, amount, or strength of something.

Decrease in a sentence

• verb

  The new policy should decrease our monthly running costs.

• noun

  The report showed a sharp decrease in customer complaints.

• verb

  Sales tend to decrease during the quiet summer weeks.

• noun

  A steady decrease in temperature signalled the change of season.

Where does decrease come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin verb decrescere, meaning 'to grow smaller' or 'to diminish', formed from the prefix de-, here carrying the sense of 'down' or 'away', joined to crescere, 'to grow'. The same crescere root produced a rich family of English words, including 'crescent' (a moon that is growing) and 'increase' (to grow into), so decrease is really the mirror image of increase. English took the word in during the late 1300s by way of Old French descreistre, and the spelling settled into 'decrease' under the steady pull of its Latin source. The classic spelling trap is the unstressed opening vowel and the doubled 'ee' in the middle, since the ear hears a long e but the eye must remember the -crease ending shared with crescere. Knowing that the heart of the word is 'crease' (the same letters as a fold in paper) gives a handy anchor for the spelling.

How the word is built

• de- (down, away)
• crease (from Latin crescere: to grow); literally 'to grow less'