Shrink Meaning
/ˈʃɹɪŋk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo cause to become smaller.
verbTo become smaller; to contract.
Sentence Examples
If you wish to get on in the world, you must not shrink from effort.
He had but one desire: to shrink away and live among the lights and shadows.
That material's going to shrink if it's washed.
CEFR Practice Quiz
If you wash that wool sweater in hot water, it will ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Natural fabrics like cotton can sometimes ____ if you wash them in water that is too hot.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English schrynken, from Old English sċrincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”). The sense “psychologist, psychotherapist” is a clipping of head-shrinker.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The bottom line is this: To shrink your gut, you need to start listening to it."
— 2008 October, David Schipper, “Outsmart your stomach: Seven ways to fill your gut—and lose it, too”, in Men's Health, volume 23, number 8, →ISSN, page 135:
"I have not found that water, by mixture of ashes, will shrink or draw into less room."
— 1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
"And shrink like parchment in consuming fire."
— 1667, John Dryden, Annus Mirabilis: The Year of Wonders, 1666. […], London: […] Henry Herringman, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):
"Since 1982, it has shrunk by 250 meters."
— 2018, VOA Learning English > China's Melting Glacier Brings Visitors, Adds to Climate Concerns:
"When they took over the 1000 'Flying Scotsman' from May 1979, the journey from London to Edinburgh shrank to just 4hrs 37mins - including a stop at Newcastle."
— 2021 October 6, Greg Morse, “A need for speed and the drive for 125”, in RAIL, number 941, page 52:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
If you wash that wool sweater in hot water, it will ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Natural fabrics like cotton can sometimes ____ if you wash them in water that is too hot.