decrease noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of decrease noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

decrease

noun
 
/ˈdiːkriːs/
 
/ˈdiːkriːs/
[countable, uncountable]
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  1. the process of reducing something; the amount that something is reduced by synonym reduction
    • Sales for May show a decrease compared with the same month last year.
    • decrease in something There has been some decrease in military spending this year.
    • a decrease in the number/level/rate of something
    • There has been a dramatic decrease in activity among our kids.
    • decrease of something (in something) There has been a decrease of nearly 6 per cent in the number of visitors to the museum.
    • decrease (from something) (to something) a decrease from 62% to just under half
    • on the decrease Marriage is still on the decrease (= decreasing).
    opposite increase
    Extra Examples
    • Half the companies in the survey reported a decrease in sales.
    • It is not uncommon to experience a decrease in confidence after a divorce.
    • The new treatment led to a huge decrease in the number of deaths.
    • There has been a sharp decrease in pollution since the law was introduced.
    • This year's figures show a decrease of 30 per cent on last year.
    Topics Change, cause and effectb2, Moneyb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • dramatic
    • drastic
    • great
    verb + decrease
    • demonstrate
    • display
    • exhibit
    preposition
    • on the decrease
    • decrease from… to…
    • decrease in
    See full entry
    Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French decreis (noun), decreistre (verb), based on Latin decrescere, from de- ‘down’ + crescere ‘grow’.
See decrease in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee decrease in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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halfway
adverb
 
 
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