taper
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to become smaller or thinner toward one end.
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to grow gradually lean.
verb (used with object)
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to make gradually smaller toward one end.
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to reduce gradually.
noun
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gradual diminution of width or thickness in an elongated object.
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gradual decrease of force, capacity, etc.
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anything having a tapering form, as a spire or obelisk.
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a candle, especially a very slender one.
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a long wick coated with wax, tallow, or the like, as for use in lighting candles or gas.
verb phrase
noun
verb
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to become or cause to become narrower towards one end
the spire tapers to a point
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(often foll by off) to become or cause to become smaller or less significant
noun
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a thin candle
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a thin wooden or waxed strip for transferring a flame; spill
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a narrowing
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engineering (in conical parts) the amount of variation in the diameter per unit of length
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any feeble source of light
Other Word Forms
- taperer noun
- tapering adjective
- taperingly adverb
- untapering adjective
Etymology
Origin of taper1
First recorded before 900; from Middle English: “wax candle,” from Old English, variant of tapur, dissimilated variant of unattested papur paper
Origin of taper2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Southern California’s mosquito season typically begins in early May, with the insect’s activity tapering off around October.
From Los Angeles Times
For now, though, the prospect of diplomatic negotiations appears to have tapered off the threat of an imminent military spat between the two countries.
From Barron's
“Steady precipitation will taper off to showers by late this afternoon and become confined to the mountains by late tonight,” the weather service posted in a Thursday morning forecast.
From Los Angeles Times
These claims had risen steadily for several years and almost reached a post-pandemic high of 2 million last fall, but they have since tapered off.
From MarketWatch
The rain is expected to continue on and off across the Southland before tapering off in the afternoon, according to a Weather Service forecast.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
