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PlainSpell

shrink

/ˈʃɹɪŋk/verb, noun

shrink is spelled S-H-R-I-N-K: 6 letters and one syllable. It appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, shrink means “To cause to become smaller” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in shrink?

Letters6: S-H-R-I-N-K
Syllables1
In writing5.4 times per million words; the 10,680th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is shrink?

Shrink appears 5.4 times per million words in written English, the 10,680th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce shrink?

  • /ˈʃɹɪŋk/
  • [ˈʃʰɹʷɪŋk]

Shrink has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-shrink.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of shrink

  • shrinks present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • shrinking participle, present
  • shrank past
  • shrunk participle, past
  • shrunken participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does shrink mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To cause to become smaller.

    The dryer shrank my sweater.

  2. 2

    To become smaller; to contract.

    This garment will shrink when wet.

  3. 3

    To cower or flinch.

    Molly shrank away from the blows of the whip.

  4. 4

    To draw back; to withdraw.

  5. 5

    To withdraw or retire, as from danger.

  6. 6

    To move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.

noun

  1. 1

    Shrinkage; contraction; recoil.

  2. 2

    derogatoryslangA psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

    You need to see a shrink, you crazy fool.

  3. 3

    Loss of inventory, for example due to shoplifting or not selling items before their expiration date.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Shrink in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchse réduire, rétrécir, se resserrer (intransitive: to contract, to become smaller), faire rétrécir, rapetisser (transitive: to cause something to shrink), psy (psychiatrist or therapist (informal, belittling))
Germanschrumpfen (intransitive: to contract, to become smaller), abnehmen (transitive: to cause something to shrink), Seelenklempner, Irrenarzt (psychiatrist or therapist (informal, belittling)), sich drücken (intransitive: to attempt to avoid an unwanted…), scheuen (to move back because of fear or disgust)
Portugueseencolher, contrair (intransitive: to contract, to become smaller)
Spanishencogerse, achicarse, parvificarse, empequeñecer (intransitive: to contract, to become smaller), encoger, mermar (transitive: to cause something to shrink)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does shrink come from?

From Middle English schrynken, from Old English sċrincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwaną. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”). The sense “psychologist, psychotherapist” is a clipping of head-shrinker.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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