shrinkage
(ˈʃrɪŋkɪdʒ)
[f. shrink v. + -age.]
1. The act or fact of shrinking; reduction in the size or volume of a substance or material due to contraction such as is caused by heat, cold, or wet.
| 1800 Colquhoun Comm. Thames ii. 76 Deficiencies of goods far beyond what can arise from natural waste or shrinkage. 1852 Nicholson's Encycl. Archit. I. 74 All timber is liable to shrinkage by the evaporation of the moisture which is always present. 1853 Lyell Princ. Geol. ii. xiv. (ed. 9) I. 327 The mud..solidifies, and becomes traversed by cracks, caused by shrinkage. 1884 Contemp. Rev. July 62 The shrinkage of the lakes has permitted systematic excavations to be made in their former beds. 1889 Rider Haggard Cleopatra Introd., Notwithstanding..the shrinkage of the flesh, I think the face was one of the most imposing and beautiful that I ever saw. |
2. a. The amount of such contraction or loss in bulk, volume, or measurement.
| 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. x. 27 Various specimens of clays..made up into squares to show their relative shrinkages. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2169/1 Brass contracts rather more [than cast iron], {threeon16} inch shrinkage to the foot being allowed. 1884 Sci. Amer. Suppl. XVIII. 7197 All substances that tend to decrease the refractory character of the basic brick increase their shrinkage. |
b. Gun-making. In shrinking on hoops or tubes, the difference between the inner diameter of the outer cylinder and the outer diameter of the inner cylinder.
| 1891 in Cent. Dict. 1894 Times 31 Aug. 6/1 The complicated calculations connected with the ‘shrinkage’ and tensions of the various parts of built-up guns. |
3. a. Of immaterial things: Diminution or reduction in quantity, amount, or size; depreciation or decrease in value; the amount of such diminution.
| 1873 ‘Mark Twain’ Gilded Age xliv. 397 They invariably allowed a half for shrinkage in his statements. 1879 H. James jun. Hawthorne 129 The shrinkage and extinction of a family. 1879 Standard 21 May 2/1 The failure is attributed to bad debts, shrinkage in the value of goods, and the withdrawal of capital. 1880 Jefferies Hodge II. 266 There has been proceeding a general shrinkage, as it were, of speculative investment. 1891 Times 9 Oct. 9/6 The total shrinkage was {pstlg}40,000. |
b. spec. in
Comm., an allowance made for the reduction in takings due to wastage, theft, etc.
| 1961 Times 6 Jan. 6/3 An allowance of up to 1 per cent is made for pilfering, the euphemistic word for it being ‘shrinkage’. 1972 Guardian 14 July 12/6 Around {pstlg}300 is lost each year..through..shrinkage. Shrinkage is not just customer pilferage. It includes errors, incompetence and inexperience. 1981 Times 4 Mar. 16/1 For some time supermarkets and department stores have referred to shoplifting euphemistically as shrinkage on their balance sheets. |
4. attrib.:
shrinkage-resistant adj.;
shrinkage cavity, a cavity in metal caused by shrinkage;
shrinkage crack Geol., a crack formed on the surface of a bed of rock and due to shrinkage caused by exposure to sun and air; a crack similarly formed in other materials;
shrinkage fit, a fit made by shrinking one cylindrical piece on to another;
shrinkage rule = contraction rule (see
contraction 9).
| 1923 Glazebrook Dict. Appl. Physics V. 358 (caption) Shrinkage cavities at surface of aluminium alloy ingot. 1973 G. J. Davies Solidification & Casting ix. 180 (caption) A large shrinkage cavity in the interior of an aluminium-bronze sand casting. |
| 1867 Murchison Siluria xviii. 437 In the Gaspé sandstones casts of shrinkage-cracks are very common. 1872 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. XXIX. 59 These nodules..are highly mineralized; for they exhibit wide shrinkage-cracks. 1930 New Statesman 27 Dec. 357/2 And even as regards telegraph poles and the like a preference is given to those with long shrinkage cracks. |
| 1895 W. Kent Mech. Engineer's Pocket-bk. 973 (heading) Shrinkage fits. 1928 F. D. Jones Handbk. Encycl. Engin. 977 A cylindrical part which is to be held in position by a shrinkage fit is first turned a few thousandths of an inch larger than the hole in which it is to fit; the diameter of the latter is increased by heating, and after the part is inserted, the heated outer member is cooled, causing it to grip the pin or shaft with tremendous pressure. 1946 Nature 14 Sept. 386/1 The greatly increased demand for shrinkage-resistant garments by the Forces. |