dwindledwin‧dle /ˈdwɪndl/ ●○○ verb [intransitive] 
Word Origin Examples
The elephant population is dwindling. His money had dwindled away.dwindle to The stream has dwindled to a trickle.► see thesaurus at decrease—dwindling adjective: dwindling resources
Word OriginWORD ORIGINdwindle
Verb TableOrigin:
1500-1600 dwine ‘to become less’VERB TABLE
dwindle
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | it | dwindles |
| Present | dwindle | |
| Past | it, they | dwindled |
| Present perfect | they | have dwindled |
| it | has dwindled | |
| Past perfect | it, they | had dwindled |
| Future | it, they | will dwindle |
| Future perfect | it, they | will have dwindled |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | they | are dwindling |
| it | is dwindling | |
| Past | they | were dwindling |
| it | was dwindling | |
| Present perfect | they | have been dwindling |
| it | has been dwindling | |
| Past perfect | it, they | had been dwindling |
| Future | it, they | will be dwindling |
| Future perfect | it, they | will have been dwindling |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- The country's foreign currency reserves have dwindled over the past few years.
- The money available to build new parks has dwindled.
- The original platoon of 30 men had dwindled to 12.
- And her rock collection is dwindling.
- Discussions about texts dwindled into silence; discussions about moms threatened to turn into full-blown therapy sessions.
- He was simply responding to the twin pressures of dwindling tax revenues and pressing needs.
- Not for nothing have the return invitations dwindled a bit over the years.
- Required to spend more time with Matilda, Agnes finds that her encounters with the curate dwindle and almost cease altogether.
- Since 1984, interference from the government has dwindled.
- There was a vaguely Rincewind-shaped violet shadow, dwindling to a point and winking out.
- They start off so large and marvellous, then they dwindle away to nothing.
THESAURUS► decrease
Collocations to become less in number or amount: · The average rainfall has decreased by around 30 percent.
► go down to decrease. Go down is less formal than decrease and is the usual word to use in conversation: · Unemployment has gone down in the past few months.
► decline formal to decrease – used with numbers or amounts, or about the level or standard of something: · The standard of living has declined.· Support for the government is steadily declining.· Salaries have declined by around 4.5%.
► diminish to become smaller or less important: · Union membership diminished from 30,000 at its height to just 2,000 today.
► fall/drop to decrease, especially by a large amount. Fall and drop are less formal than decrease: · The number of tigers in the wild has fallen to just over 10,000.· At night, the temperature drops to minus 20 degrees.
► plunge/plummet to suddenly decrease very quickly and by a very large amount: · Share prices have plummeted 29% in the last four months.· Climate change could cause global temperatures to plummet.
► slide if a price or value slides, it gradually decreases in a way that causes problems – used especially in news reports: · The dollar fell in late trading in New York yesterday and slid further this morning.
► dwindle to gradually decrease until there is very little left of something, especially numbers or amounts, popularity, or importance: · Support for the theory is dwindling.
► taper off if a number or the amount of an activity that is happening tapers off, it gradually decreases, especially so that it stops completely: · Political violence tapered off after the elections.
Longman Language Activatorwhen prices, numbers etc become less► go down/come down to become less: · Attendance at the school's basketball games has gone down significantly in the last few years.· I'm hoping the price will come down if I wait a while.
► fall/drop to become less, especially by a large amount: · Sales have fallen dramatically in Houston and Toronto.fall/drop to: · At night, the temperature drops to -20°C.fall/drop from something to something: · Profits fell from £98.5 million to £76 million.
► decrease to become less - used especially in writing about business or technical subjects: · Experts say that the time parents spend with their children is decreasing.decrease to: · The speed of rotation gradually decreases to zero.
► decline a gradual decrease in the number or amount of something good or important so that the situation becomes worse: · Firms with large debts may not have the financial strength to survive a prolonged sales decline or a recession.decline in: · We can expect a further decline in job vacancies.
► reduction when a price, level etc is reduced - use this when something is reduced deliberately: · New production methods led to a cost reduction of about 50 percent.reduction in: · Cleaner fuel has contributed to a reduction in air pollution.· a reduction in working hours
► cut a reduction in the amount or size of something made by a government or large organization - use this especially when talking about politics or business: cut in: · Cuts in the education budget have led to fewer teachers and larger classes.pay/job/tax cuts (=cuts in wages, number of jobs, or taxes): · The whole team agreed to take pay cuts, rather than see their colleagues lose their jobs.· Some senators have called for huge tax cuts to stimulate the economy.
► plummet/plunge to drop very rapidly and by a large amount: · As soon as the sun went down, the temperature plummeted.· The drought has caused the price of hay to soar, and the price of cattle has plummeted.plummet/plunge 20 degrees/thirty points etc: · The stock market plunged 30 points when the news was announced.
► taper off if a number or the amount of activity happening tapers off , it gradually decreases: · Towards sunset, the rain began to taper off.
► dwindle if supplies or numbers of something dwindle , they gradually decrease: · The country's foreign currency reserves have dwindled over the past few years.dwindle to: · The original platoon of 30 men had dwindled to 12.
► slide if a price or value slides it gradually decreases in a way that causes problems - used especially in news reports: · Prices will continue to slide unless production is reduced.· The dollar fell in late trading in New York yesterday and slid further this morning.
► take a nosedive also nosedive informal if the price or value of something takes a nosedive , it becomes lower very quickly and causes problems. If an economy takes a nosedive it become worse very quickly: · Since January, sales of cars and trucks, including minivans, have nosedived.· Shares on the stock exchange took another nosedive Friday.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► a dwindling supply
(also dwindle away) to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller: (=one that is getting smaller)· We cannot rely on the dwindling supplies of crude oil and natural gas.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► away· They start off so large and marvellous, then they dwindle away to nothing.· How much Tory support has dwindled away following the community charge debacle is open to question.
► to· The Tiller fortune had now dwindled to just over £3,000.
VERB► begin· But the theaters hit a problem in the winter, when hens lay fewer eggs and audiences began to dwindle.· As the dragons fly further away they begin to dwindle.· During his lifetime, the distinctive characteristics of his vocation had begun to dwindle.· Consuela, never fully alive to begin with, dwindles to literary device.
The elephant population is dwindling. His money had dwindled away.dwindle to The stream has dwindled to a trickle.► see thesaurus at decrease—dwindling adjective: dwindling resources