Shrinkers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of individuals or agents that reduces the size or volume of something, often in contexts like textiles or biological phenomena
2. A term for specialized tools or devices designed to compress materials or objects for easier storage and transportation
3. People or items that cause or experience a decrease in dimensions or quantity, particularly in industrial or scientific settings

Etymology: "Shrinkers" is simply the plural of "shrinker," which is built from the verb "shrink" and the suffix "-er," the same ending found in words like "baker" or "lover." The suffix turns an action into the name of whatever performs or causes it, so a shrinker is a thing that shrinks things. The plural form follows the ordinary English pattern of adding "-s" to a countable noun. Because the suffix is so productive, many nouns of this shape appear in everyday use, and the sense here is the plainly literal one: objects or agents that make something smaller.

Synonyms: reducers, compressors