[shringk] 
verb, shrank or, often, shrunk; shrunk or shrunk⋅en; shrink⋅ing; noun | 1. | to draw back, as in retreat or avoidance: to shrink from danger; to shrink from contact. |
| 2. | to contract or lessen in size, as from exposure to conditions of temperature or moisture: This cloth will not shrink if washed in lukewarm water. |
| 3. | to become reduced in extent or compass. |
| 4. | to cause to shrink or contract; reduce. |
| 5. | Textiles. to cause (a fabric) to contract during finishing, thus preventing shrinkage, during laundering, of the garments made from it. |
| 6. | an act or instance of shrinking. |
| 7. | a shrinking movement. |
| 8. | shrinkage. |
| 9. | Also, shrinker. Also called head shrinker. Slang. a psychotherapist, psychiatrist, or psychoanalyst. |
Medical
Word Origin & History
| shrink (shrĭngk) v. shrank (shrāngk) or shrunk (shrŭngk), shrunk or shrunk·en (shrŭng'kən), shrink·ing, shrinks v. intr.
To cause to shrink. n.
[Middle English shrinken, to wither, shrivel up, from Old English scrincan; see sker-2 in Indo-European roots.] shrink'a·ble adj., shrink'er n. |
