shrinkflate

S1H4R1I1N1K5F4L1A1T1E1

verb

To make a product smaller while continuing to market it at the same price.

Scrabble 21
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbshrinkflate (third-person singular simple present shrinkflates, present participle shrinkflating, simple past and past participle shrinkflated)

present singular third person shrinkflates · participle present shrinkflating · participle past shrinkflated · past shrinkflated

  1. ambitransitiveinformaleconomicsTo make a product smaller while continuing to market it at the same price.

    Lately, Mr. Dworsky has had his work cut out for him. With inflation at a 40-year high, business owners have been increasingly shrinkflating their products in an attempt to hide price increases.

    2022 November 26, Clare Toeniskoetter, “Meet the Man on a Mission to Expose Sneaky Price Increases”, in The New York Times

Origin

Back-formation from shrinkflation. Equivalent to a blend of shrink + inflate.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

shrinkflate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrinkflate

MLA

“shrinkflate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrinkflate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shrinkflate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shrinkflate.

Source: shrinkflate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.