shrinkage
/ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ
/noun [mass noun]
1The process, fact, or amount of shrinking: give long curtains good hems to allow for shrinkage...
- At the beginning of the process, for moderate external glucose concentrations, small shrinkages were observed and vesicle shapes remained quasispherical.
- Slightly overfill the crack to allow for shrinkage.
- Formation of shrinkage cracks allows water infiltration that weakens the subgrade, which may lead to further fatigue cracking in the pavement structure.
1.1An allowance made for reduction in the takings of a business due to wastage or theft.The effect has been two agency closures, a couple of mergers, and further shrinkage is expected in the coming year....
- The land of spoilage, shrinkage, of profit margins so thin that the accountant's hands bleed with a thousand sharp cuts.
- Economic growth in 2006 is expected to slow because of to export shrinkage in the field of heavy production.
