How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. R. W. Holder. 2014.
downsize — down‧size [ˈdaʊnsaɪz] verb 1. [intransitive, transitive] HUMAN RESOURCES if a company downsizes, it reduces the number of employees and levels of management that it has: • If your company downsizes and you are over 50, your working life may be… … Financial and business terms
downsize — meaning ‘to reduce in size or scale’, is first recorded in the 1970s with reference to the manufacture of smaller and more economical motor cars. In the US in the early 1980s it rapidly acquired its now primary meaning, in the euphemistic jargon… … Modern English usage
Downsize Me! — Format Reality Series Presented by Damian Kristof Lee Anne Wann Country of origin New Zealand Broadcast Original channel … Wikipedia
downsize — ☆ downsize [doun′sīz΄ ] vt. downsized, downsizing 1. to design or manufacture a smaller version of 2. to reduce in size, extent, etc. [to downsize a company by eliminating jobs] vi. to become smaller in size or extent, as by eliminating employees … English World dictionary
downsize — v. To reduce the size of a workforce in response to economic conditions or business needs. See also layoff The Essential Law Dictionary. Sphinx Publishing, An imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. Amy Hackney Blackwell. 2008 … Law dictionary
downsize — 1986 in reference to companies shedding jobs; earlier (1975) in reference to U.S. automakers building smaller cars and trucks (supposedly a coinage at General Motors), from DOWN (Cf. down) (adv.) + SIZE (Cf. size). Related: Downsized; downsizing … Etymology dictionary
downsize — [v] to decrease in size, especially of a workforce curtail, cut, cut back, cut down, decrease, deduct, diminish, phase down, phase out, reduce, retrench, roll back, roll down, scale back, scale down, shrink, step down, trim, trim away, tune down; … New thesaurus
downsize — ► VERB chiefly N. Amer. 1) make smaller. 2) (of a company) shed staff … English terms dictionary
downsize — [[t]da͟ʊnsaɪz[/t]] downsizes, downsizing, downsized VERB To downsize something such as a business or industry means to make it smaller. [V n] American manufacturing organizations have been downsizing their factories. [V ed] ...today s downsized… … English dictionary
downsize — UK [ˈdaʊnˌsaɪz] / US verb [intransitive/transitive] Word forms downsize : present tense I/you/we/they downsize he/she/it downsizes present participle downsizing past tense downsized past participle downsized business to make a company or… … English dictionary
downsize — /down suyz /, v., downsized, downsizing, adj. v.t. 1. to design or manufacture a smaller version or type of: The automotive industry downsized its cars for improved fuel economy. 2. to reduce in number; cut back. adj. 3. Also, downsized. being of … Universalium
