shrink

Universal Words verb, noun verb (shrank or, shrunk, shrunk) 1 to become smaller, especially when washed in water that is too hot; to make clothes, fabric, etc. smaller in this way: [V] My sweater shrank in the wash. [also VN] 2 to become or to make sth smaller in size or amount: [V] The tumour had shrunk to the size of a pea. * The market for their products is shrinking. * There was a movie called 'Honey I shrunk the kids!'. * [VN] Television in a sense has shrunk the world. seealsoSHRUNKEN 3 [V+adv./prep.] to move back or away from sth because you are frightened or shocked: He shrank back against the wall as he heard them approaching. IDIOMS a shrinking violet (humorous) a way of describing a very shy person PHRASALVERBS shrink from sth (written) to be unwilling to do sth that is difficult or unpleasant: We made it clear to them that we would not shrink from confrontation. * [+-ing] They did not shrink from doing what was right. noun (slang, humorous) a PSYCHIATRIST or PSYCHOLOGIST: She sees her shrink once a week.