shrink·age

[shring-kij]
noun
1.
the act or fact of shrinking.
2.
the amount or degree of shrinking.
3.
reduction or depreciation in quantity, value, etc.
4.
contraction of a fabric in finishing or washing.
5.
the difference between the original weight of livestock and that after it has been prepared for marketing.
6.
Commerce. loss of merchandise through breakage, pilferage, shoplifting, etc.

Origin:
1790–1800; shrink + -age

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To shrinkage
00:10
Shrinkage is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
shrinkage (ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  the act or fact of shrinking
2.  the amount by which anything decreases in size, value, weight, etc
3.  the loss in body weight during shipment and preparation of livestock for marketing as meat
4.  the loss of merchandise in a retail store through theft or damage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It offers excellent performance in properties such as shock absorption,
  insulation value and moulding shrinkage.
Astronomers say that the gradual cooling of the moon's interior probably caused
  the shrinkage.
Aging has the same effect, and the shrinkage may be linked to learning.
Economic shrinkage due to ecological collapse will entail population shrinkage.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT