| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024dwin•dle /ˈdwɪndəl/USA pronunciation v. [no object], -dled, -dling. - to become smaller;
diminish:Our food supply began to dwindle.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024dwin•dle (dwin′dl),USA pronunciation v., -dled, -dling. v.i. - to become smaller and smaller;
shrink;
waste away:His vast fortune has dwindled away. - to fall away, as in quality;
degenerate.
v.t. - to make smaller and smaller;
cause to shrink:Failing health dwindles ambition.
- 1590–1600; dwine (now dialect, dialectal) to waste away (Middle English; Old English dwīnan; cognate with Middle Dutch dwīnen to languish, Old Norse dvīna to pine away) + -le
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged diminish, decline, lessen, wane. See decrease.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged lessen.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged increase.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged magnify.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: dwindle /ˈdwɪndəl/ vb - to grow or cause to grow less in size, intensity, or number; diminish or shrink gradually
Etymology: 16th Century: from Old English dwīnan to waste away; related to Old Norse dvīna to pine away |