dwindle

verb

dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl How to pronounce dwindle (audio)
dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-(d)liŋ How to pronounce dwindle (audio)
-dᵊl-iŋ

intransitive verb

: to become steadily less : shrink
Their savings dwindled to nothing.
a dwindling population

transitive verb

: to make steadily less
Choose the Right Synonym for dwindle

decrease, lessen, diminish, reduce, abate, dwindle mean to grow or make less.

decrease suggests a progressive decline in size, amount, numbers, or intensity.

slowly decreased the amount of pressure

lessen suggests a decline in amount rather than in number.

has been unable to lessen her debt

diminish emphasizes a perceptible loss and implies its subtraction from a total.

his visual acuity has diminished

reduce implies a bringing down or lowering.

you must reduce your caloric intake

abate implies a reducing of something excessive or oppressive in force or amount.

the storm abated

dwindle implies progressive lessening and is applied to things growing visibly smaller.

their provisions dwindled slowly

Examples of dwindle in a Sentence

Our energy dwindled as the meeting dragged on. The town's population is dwindling away.
Recent Examples on the Web Arthur Grijalva, who has been cycling with the group for about four years and started cycling nearly 30 years ago, was previously a part of a dwindling bike club. The Arizona Republic, 16 Mar. 2024 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that a dwindling supply of air defense missiles is making Russia’s regular air attacks more deadly. Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Still, economists are expecting higher interest rates and dwindling pandemic savings to take some steam out of spending. Bryan Mena, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 Food and water are dwindling as stands and stores selling to impoverished Haitians run out of goods. Dánica Coto and Evens Sanon, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024 Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the Americas and the U.N. and other aid groups say food and water are dwindling. Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024 The bustle of vendors and customers on its March 1 reopening felt a far cry from the final weeks of the market’s previous run, which ended in large part due to dwindling vendors, according to organizers. Stephanie Breijo, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The diving fisherwomen of South Korea’s Jeju Island, who harvest shellfish from the seafloor without breathing equipment, were a dwindling, elderly bunch when the agency recognized them, in 2016. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2024 For Ojibwe tribes, warming winters, dwindling ice thickness and year-to-year whiplash is putting important treaty resources at risk. Caitlin Looby, Journal Sentinel, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dwindle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

probably frequentative of dwine to waste away, from Middle English, from Old English dwīnan; akin to Old Norse dvīna to pine away, deyja to die — more at die

First Known Use

1596, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of dwindle was in 1596

Dictionary Entries Near dwindle

Cite this Entry

“Dwindle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dwindle. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

dwindle

verb
dwin·​dle ˈdwin-dᵊl How to pronounce dwindle (audio)
dwindled; dwindling ˈdwin-dliŋ How to pronounce dwindle (audio)
-dᵊliŋ
: to make or become less

More from Merriam-Webster on dwindle

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!