verb / noun · neutral
decline
/dɪˈklaɪn/di·CLINE
to become smaller or less; a decrease
Examples
“Passenger numbers declined steadily after 2015.”
“There was a gradual decline in sales over three months.”
“The industry saw a sharp decline following the crisis.”
Band 8 sentence
“Following the regulatory changes, subscription rates declined gradually over two years, reflecting a long-term shift in consumer behaviour.”
Collocations
- decline by X% / decline to X
- steady/gradual/sharp decline
- a decline in demand/sales
Word family
Common mistakes
The rate was declined by 3%.→The rate declined by 3%.
There was declined in the number of users.→There was a decline in the number of users.
Say it for a higher band
5go down→6decrease→7+decline
Synonyms
fall
decrease
Easily confused
drop
“After the announcement, share prices dropped sharply the next day.”
decrease
“The number of students decreased slightly this year.”
Related words
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In Rise & fall
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