scale back

British  

verb

1. (adverb) to reduce or make a reduction in the level of activity, extent, numbers, etc

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Example Sentences

That’s because if high-income shoppers scale back their spending, then the other horizontal lines of the “E” — the lower and middle classes — may not have enough spending power to keep the economy afloat.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

That’s because if high-income shoppers scale back their spending, then the other horizontal lines of the “E” — the lower and middle classes — may not have enough spending power to keep the economy afloat.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026

Painter said that the increased revenue from energy prices wouldn’t necessarily close all of it, but state lawmakers likely won’t need to scale back the budget as much as they would otherwise need to.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

It added that it would scale back some monetization initiatives to boost “top-of-funnel user growth.”

From Barron's • Feb. 27, 2026

Several months after Barack’s announcement in Springfield and with the support of my colleagues, I’d decided to scale back to part-time hours, knowing it was the only sustainable way to keep going.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Related Words

• curtail
• cut back
• cut down
• diminish
• phase out
• reduce
• retrench
• scale down
• shrink
• trim