depreciate

Universal Words verb 1 [V] to become less valuable over a period of time: New cars start to depreciate as soon as they are on the road. * Shares continued to depreciate on the stock markets today. OPPAPPRECIATE 2 [VN] (business) to reduce the value, as stated in the company's accounts, of a particular ASSET over a particular period of time: The bank depreciates PCs over a period of five years. 3 [VN] (formal) to make sth seem unimportant or of no value: I had no intention of depreciating your contribution. depreciation noun [U]: currency depreciation * the depreciation of fixed assets