Definition of "decline"

decline

/dɪˈklaɪn/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural declines
1. Downward movement, fall.
2. A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.
3. A deterioration of condition; a weakening or worsening.
  Quotations
  In an era when political leaders promise deliverance from decline through America’s purported preeminence in scientific research, the news that science is in deep trouble in the United States has been as unwelcome as a diagnosis of leukemia following the loss of health insurance.
  2012 January, Philip E. Mirowski, “Harms to Health from the Pursuit of Profits”, in American Scientist‎, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 4 April 2012, page 87
4. A reduction or diminution of activity, prevalence or quantity.
  Quotations
  It is also pertinent to note that the current obvious decline in work on holarctic hepatics most surely reflects a current obsession with cataloging and with nomenclature of the organisms—as divorced from their study as living entities.
  1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, page ix
  "It knows it has to plan for managed decline, but it can't even plan for managed decline if it doesn't know how much decline to manage."
  2022 March 23, Paul Clifton, “Londoners pay the price”, in RAIL, number 953, page 48
5. The act of declining or refusing something.
  Quotations
  The issuing bank only checks the consumer's credit card number for authorization. […] Soft declines are those declines in which the bank requires further verification.
  2004, David A. Montague, Fraud Prevention Techniques for Credit Card Fraud
verb
third-person singular simple present declines, present participle declining, simple past and past participle declined
1. (intransitive) To move downwards, to fall, to drop.
2. (intransitive) To become weaker or worse.
3. (transitive) To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.
  Quotations
  in melancholy site, with head declined
  1728, James Thomson, “Spring”, in The Seasons, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, and sold by Thomas Cadell, […], published 1768
  And now faire Phoebus gan decline in hast / His weary wagon to the Westerne vale.
  1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, stanza 10
4. (transitive) To cause to decrease or diminish.
  Quotations
  You have declin'd his means.
  1612–1613, Nathan Field, John Fletcher, Philip Massinger, “The Honest Mans Fortune”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, Act II, scene ii
  He knoweth his error, but will not seek to decline it.
  1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps
5. To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw.
  Quotations
  Yet do I not decline from thy testimonies.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Psalms 99:157
6. (transitive) To choose not to do something; refuse, forbear, refrain.
  Quotations
  Could I decline this dreadful hour?
  1626, Philip Massinger, The Roman Actor
  “ […] This is Mr. Churchill, who, as you are aware, is good enough to come to us for his diaconate, and, as we hope, for much longer; and being a gentleman of independent means, he declines to take any payment.” Saying this Walden rubbed his hands together and smiled contentedly.
  1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter VII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company
7. (transitive, grammar, usually of substantives, adjectives and pronouns) To inflect for case, number, gender, and the like.
8. (transitive, grammar) To recite all the different declined forms of (a word).
  Quotations
  after the first declining of a noun and a verb
  1570, Roger Ascham, The Scholemaster, 1st edition
9. (by extension) To run through from first to last; to recite in order as though declining a noun.
  Quotations
  Decline all this, and see what now thou art. For happy wife, a most distressed widow; For joyful mother, one that wails the name; For one being sued to, one that humbly sues; For queen , a very caitiff crown'd with care […]
  c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act IV, scene iv]
10. (American football, Canadian football) To reject a penalty against the opposing team, usually because the result of accepting it would benefit the non-penalized team less than the preceding play.

Definition of "decline"

decline

noun

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

verb

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations

Quotations