depreciate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to reduce the purchasing value of (money).
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to lessen the value or price of.
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to claim depreciation on (a property) for tax purposes.
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to represent as of little value or merit; belittle.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to reduce or decline in value or price
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(tr) to lessen the value of by derision, criticism, etc; disparage
Commonly Confused
See deprecate
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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depreciatornoun
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predepreciateverb
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redepreciateverb
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underdepreciateverb (used with object)
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depreciatoryadjective
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nondepreciatingadjective
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undepreciatedadjective
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depreciatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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depreciatesimple
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depreciatessimple
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have depreciatedperfect
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has depreciatedperfect
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am depreciatingprogressive
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are depreciatingprogressive
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is depreciatingprogressive
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have been depreciatingperfect progressive
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has been depreciatingperfect progressive
Past
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depreciatedsimple
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had depreciatedperfect
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was depreciatingprogressive
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were depreciatingprogressive
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had been depreciatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of depreciate
First recorded in 1640–50; from Late Latin dēpretiātus “undervalued” (past participle of dēpretiāre; in Medieval Latin spelling dēpreciāre ), equivalent to Latin dē- “away from, out of” + preti(um) “price” + -ātus past participle suffix; see de-, price, -ate 1
Explanation
Something depreciates when it loses value. If you bought shares of a company for $10 each a year ago and now they’re worth $1 each, guess what: they have depreciated. One of the most frustrating things about buying a car is the way it loses value. As soon as you drive it off the lot, your new car has already depreciated by several thousand dollars. Though usually used like this as a financial term, depreciate can also be used as the similar-sounding but unrelated word deprecate meaning "to belittle, lower in esteem." Your teachers should not depreciate you just because you don't always know the answers to their questions!
Vocabulary lists containing depreciate
"The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry
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"The Gift of the Magi"
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How Low Can You Go? Synonyms for "Downward"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is accounting policy to depreciate infrastructure and recognize other operating costs related to scaling new clusters when it starts provisioning the equipment, incurring expenses before the assets are handed over to a customer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The amount actually recovered in cases like this often falls well short of the amount embezzled - especially if the money has been spent on consumables, holidays, and luxury goods that depreciate.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
The cost of maintaining military superiority is rising as technological innovation accelerates, even as traditional military capital like tanks, ships, and aircraft become more vulnerable and depreciate faster.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
Electric vehicles depreciate in value faster than traditional cars, meaning buyers can get a good deal on a used EV that hasn’t been on the road for long.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
He tried to depreciate her; he told himself she was not pretty, and then made indignant answer that he liked her looks much better than any beauty of them all.
From Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 1. No 1, June 1850 by Various
Remolona pointed to prior episodes where the peso depreciates sharply just as oil prices surged, fueling inflation and prompting the BSP to step in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
A car’s value, meanwhile, depreciates over time, so the borrower runs a risk of becoming “upside down” on the loan, or owing more than the car is worth.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2025
Amounts owed to boxers do not gain interest or adjust for inflation once a fighter is eligible at age 50, meaning the value depreciates over time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
If the rupee depreciates, fuel costs more, with knock-on effects for goods that are transported or manufactured.
From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2023
Now, if paper depreciates to 90, relatively to gold, it will drive out the subsidiary silver at 96, in accordance with Gresham's law.
From Principles Of Political Economy Abridged with Critical, Bibliographical, and Explanatory Notes, and a Sketch of the History of Political Economy by Mill, John Stuart
Having sat unused in a police yard for over three years, it will have depreciated sharply - perhaps to less than half its original price.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
The yen depreciated about 17% against the dollar over the past four years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
Since the crisis erupted, the interest rates at which Romania borrows have risen, and the lei currency has depreciated against the euro, which reached an all-time high of 5.21 Romanian lei on Tuesday.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
That annual return will continue over the decades while slowly decreasing each year as the assets are depreciated, Ellis said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
The gold coinage was renewed, and as a safeguard against its future depreciation the existing depreciated coin was cut off from any sapping action upon it by the above restriction as to tender by weight.
From The History of Currency, 1252 to 1896 by Shaw, William Arthur
If the tax turns these high-priced apartments into depreciating assets, prices of smaller apartments will have to rise to make up for it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
However, some analysts think this will likely have the opposite effect of that intended as investors seek to protect themselves from the inflationary impact of a depreciating rupee.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
The most valuable asset you have now is time — and that’s a depreciating asset for all of us.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
The current wave of protests began after shopkeepers in Tehran went on strike over the rising cost of living and the depreciating value of the currency.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
Here Dad would stop long enough to give his version of a depreciating moue, and hide his face coyly behind an upraised elbow.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
