taper off

verb

tapered off; tapering off; tapers off

: taper

housing starts tapered off in the fall

Synonyms of taper off

• decrease
• diminish
• subside
• die (away or down or out)
• drain (away)
• decline
• fall away
• fall
• ease
• drop (off)

Examples of taper off in a Sentence

at this time of the year, light begins to taper off a little earlier each day

Recent Examples on the Web

Not doing so and focusing just on sandals and flip-flops means the brand peaks in the spring-summer, and then see the business tapering off in the fall. — Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 7 Oct. 2026

What happens if the supply gap is still there when releases taper off? — Rebecca Schneid, Time, 3 Oct. 2026

But the rain will gradually taper off, and the winds are much lighter than on Sunday. — Kate Bilo, CBS News, 28 Sep. 2026

Any precipitation should taper off later Monday, though clouds may linger into the evening, making for a gray day, the weather service said. — Kansas City Star, 21 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1848, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for taper off

• cerenkov
• ashraf
• checkoff
• cutoff
• falloff
• handoff
• kickoff
• layoff
• liftoff
• markoff
• markov
• payoff

Kids Definition

taper off

verb

: to stop or lessen gradually