de‧cline 1 W2 AC / dɪklaɪn / 名词 [单数形式，不可数] #

a decrease in the quality, quantity, or importance of something

decline in

There has been a decline in the size of families.

decline of

the decline of manufacturing

rapid/sharp/steep/dramatic decline

a rapid decline in unemployment

steady/gradual/long-term decline

The island’s population initially numbered 180, but there was a gradual decline until only 40 people were left.

the economic decline faced by many cities

in decline/on the decline (= falling )

the widely held belief that educational standards are in decline

fall/go etc into decline (= become less important, successful etc )

The port fell into decline in the 1950s.

COLLOCATIONS

形容词

sharp/steep (= by a large amount ) The higher prices caused a sharp decline in sales.

rapid (= fast ) We noticed a rapid decline in his health.

dramatic (= extremely fast, and by a large amount ) The last three years have seen a dramatic decline in the number of tigers in the area.

marked (= very noticeable ) Hunting led to a marked decline in bird numbers.

gradual After 1870, there was a gradual decline of the disease.

steady/progressive (= gradual but continuous ) There has been a steady decline in club membership.

a long-term decline (= happening for a long time ) The long-term decline in the manufacturing industry is still continuing.

economic/industrial etc decline This area has been severely affected by long-term industrial decline.

动词

cause/lead to a decline The use of agricultural chemicals has led to a decline in water quality.

go/fall into decline (= become less important, successful etc ) At the beginning of the century the cloth trade was going into decline.

suffer a decline The firm suffered a sharp decline in its profits.

stop/halt a decline (= stop it from continuing ) These measures are intended to halt the decline in fish populations.

reverse a decline (= make something start to improve again ) The main aim is to reverse the decline of the world’s environment.

see a decline (= used to say that a decline happens at a particular time or in a particular place ) The 20th century saw a steady decline in the rural population.

THESAURUS

decrease used when the number, amount, or level of something becomes less than it used to be : There has been a significant decrease in the number of deaths from lung cancer. | a 5% decrease in housing prices

reduction used when the price, amount, or level of something is made lower : There will be further price reductions in the sales. | A small reduction in costs can mean a large increase in profits.

cut used when a government or company reduces the price, amount, or level of something : a 1% cut in interest rates | tax cuts | It is possible that there will be further job cuts.

drop/fall used when the number, amount, or level of something goes down, especially by a large amount : The figures showed a sharp fall in industrial output. | There was a dramatic drop in temperature.

decline used when the number, amount, level, or standard of something goes down, especially gradually : During the 1970s, there was a gradual decline in the birthrate. | a decline in educational standards

decline 2 W3 AC verb #

1 decrease [不及物动词] to decrease in quantity or importance :
Spending on information technology has declined. Car sales have declined by a quarter. After the war, the city declined in importance. 2 say no [不及物和及物动词] formal to say no politely when someone invites you somewhere, offers you something, or wants you to do something :
Offered the position of chairman, Smith declined, preferring to keep his current job. Mary declined a hot drink and went to her room. decline an offer/invitation etc Mary declined Jay’s invitation to dinner. decline to do something The court declined to review her case. The minister declined to comment (= refused to speak to people who report the news ) about the progress of the peace talks. 3 become worse [不及物动词] to become gradually worse in quality SYN deteriorate :
Her health has been declining progressively for several months. Qualified staff are leaving and standards are declining. 4 sb’s declining years formal the last years of someone’s life 5 grammar a) [不及物动词] if a noun, pronoun , or adjective declines, its form changes according to whether it is the subject , object etc of a sentence b) [及物动词] if you decline a noun, pronoun , or adjective, you show the various forms that it can take

— declining adjective :
declining attendance at baseball games