Definition of "shrinkage" [shrink•age]

• The process of shrinking. (noun)
• The amount or proportion by which something shrinks. (noun)
• A reduction in value; depreciation. (noun)
• The total weight loss sustained by livestock in shipment to a market. (noun)
• Loss of merchandise, especially through theft. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "With the lake less 16 feet at its deepest, or about half its depth when the decline began in 1977, the shrinkage is affecting the local economy."
• "With the lake now less 16 feet at its deepest, or about half its depth when the decline began in 1977, the shrinkage is affecting the local economy."
• "Here are NASA images of the polar ice cap in 1979 and 2003: The massive shrinkage is obvious."