decline🔊

Downward movement, fall.

A sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.

A deterioration of condition; a weakening or worsening.

A reduction or diminution of activity, prevalence or quantity.

The act of declining or refusing something.

To move downwards, to fall, to drop.

To become weaker or worse.

To bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.

To cause to decrease or diminish.

To turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw.

To choose not to do something; refuse, forbear, refrain.

(grammar, usually of substantives, adjectives and pronouns) To inflect for case, number, gender, and the like. +

(grammar) To recite all the different declined forms of (a word): to recite its declension. +

(by extension) To run through from first to last; to recite in order as though declining a noun.

(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.