decreasing
Americanadjective
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becoming less or fewer; diminishing.
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Mathematics. (of a function) having the property that for any two points in the domain such that one is larger than the other, the image of the larger point is less than or equal to the image of the smaller point; nonincreasing.
Usage
What does decreasing mean? Decreasing is an adjective that means lessening or in decline—becoming less in number, amount, size, or in some other way. It comes from the continuous tense (-ing form) of the verb decrease, which means to lessen or become reduced in number, amount, size, or in some other way, as in Our profits will continue to decrease unless we cut costs. The word decreased can also be used as an adjective to describe things that have lessened or declined, as in a decreased appetite. Example: Decreasing sales have forced the company to cut costs.
Other Word Forms
- decreasingly adverb
- undecreasing adjective
- undecreasingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of decreasing
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; decrease, -ing 2
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.
In the film, the temporal correlation between increased use of plastics and decreasing sperm count is presented as causative.
From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026
They also are sensitive to environmental conditions and can change chemical composition if stored at the wrong temperatures or shaken too vigorously, increasing the risk of an immune response or decreasing their effectiveness.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
Landfast ice in the Chukchi Sea has been decreasing for decades.
From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026
Theories to explain decreasing crime range from an influx of federal funding to stepped-up police enforcement, along with longer-term societal shifts, like reduced alcohol consumption and increased time spent alone.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026
By shortening the intestines and decreasing their energy consumption, cooking inadvertently opened the way to the jumbo brains of Neanderthals and Sapiens.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
