taper off
pər verb (used without object)
1.
to become smaller or thinner toward one end.
2.
to grow gradually lean.
verb (used with object)
3.
to make gradually smaller toward one end.
4.
to reduce gradually.
noun
5.
gradual diminution of width or thickness in an elongated object.
6.
gradual decrease of force, capacity, etc.
7.
anything having a tapering form, as a spire or obelisk.
8.
a candle, especially a very slender one.
9.
a long wick coated with wax, tallow, or the like, as for use in lighting candles or gas.
00:10
Taper off
is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
10.
taper off,
a.
to become gradually more slender toward one end.
b.
to cease by degrees; decrease; diminish: The storm is beginning to taper off now. I haven't stopped smoking entirely, but I'm tapering off to three cigarettes a day.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English: wax candle, Old English, variant of tapur, dissimilated variant of *papur paper
before 900; Middle English: wax candle, Old English, variant of tapur, dissimilated variant of *papur paper
Related forms
ta·per·er, noun
ta·per·ing·ly, adverb
un·ta·pered, adjective
un·ta·per·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To taper off
Collins
World English Dictionary
tape (teɪp) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a long thin strip, made of cotton, linen, etc, used for binding, fastening, etc |
| 2. | any long narrow strip of cellulose, paper, metal, etc, having similar uses |
| 3. | a string stretched across the track at the end of a race course |
| 4. | slang chiefly (Brit) military another word for stripe |
| 5. | magnetic tape ticker tape paper tape See tape recording |
| —vb | |
| 6. | (also intr) Also: tape-record to record (speech, music, etc) |
| 7. | to furnish with tapes |
| 8. | to bind, measure, secure, or wrap with tape |
| 9. | informal (Brit) (usually passive) to take stock of (a person or situation); sum up: he's got the job taped |
| [Old English tæppe; related to Old Frisian tapia to pull, Middle Dutch tapen to tear] | |
| 'tapelike | |
| —adj | |
| 'taper | |
| —n | |
| taper (ˈteɪpə) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to become or cause to become narrower towards one end: the spire tapers to a point |
| 2. | ( |
| —n | |
| 3. | a thin candle |
| 4. | a thin wooden or waxed strip for transferring a flame; spill |
| 5. | a narrowing |
| 6. | engineering (in conical parts) the amount of variation in the diameter per unit of length |
| 7. | any feeble source of light |
| [Old English tapor, probably from Latin papӯrus | |
| 'taperer | |
| —n | |
| 'tapering | |
| —adj | |
| 'taperingly | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
taper
O.E. tapur, taper "candle," not found outside Eng., possibly a dissimilated borrowing from L. papyrus (see papyrus), which was used in M.L. and some Romance languages for "wick of a candle" (e.g. It. papijo "wick"), since these often were made from the pith of papyrus. Cf.
also Ger. kerze "candle," from O.H.G. charza, from L. charta, from Gk. khartes "papyrus, roll made from papyrus, wick made from pith of papyrus." The verb meaning "to shoot up like a flame or spire" is attested from 1589; sense of "gradually decrease in size, force, etc." first recorded 1610.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
taper off
-
Become thinner or narrower at one end, as in The road began to taper off until it was just a narrow path. [c. 1600]
-
Diminish or lessen gradually, end by degrees, as in The storm finally tapered off. [Mid-1800s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Nearby Words
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