different between cram vs shrink

English

Etymology

From Middle English crammen, from Old English crammian (“to cram; stuff”), from Proto-West Germanic *kramm?n, from Proto-Germanic *kramm?n?, a secondary verb derived from *krimman? (“to stuff”), from Proto-Indo-European *ger- (“to assemble; collect; gather”). Compare Old English crimman (“to cram; stuff; insert; press; bruise”), Icelandic kremja (“to squeeze; crush; bruise”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /k?æm/
• Rhymes: -æm

Verb

cram (third-person singular simple present crams, present participle cramming, simple past and past participle crammed)

1. (transitive) To press, force, or drive, particularly in filling, or in thrusting one thing into another; to stuff; to fill to superfluity.
2. (transitive) To fill with food to satiety; to stuff.

3. (transitive) To put hastily through an extensive course of memorizing or study, as in preparation for an examination.

4. (intransitive) To study hard; to swot.
5. (intransitive) To eat greedily, and to satiety; to stuff oneself.
6. (intransitive, dated, British slang) To lie; to intentionally not tell the truth.
7. (transitive, dated, British slang) To make (a person) believe false or exaggerated tales.

Derived terms

• crammable, crammer, cram school, cram-full, cram session

Translations

Noun

cram (countable and uncountable, plural crams)

1. The act of cramming (forcing or stuffing something).
2. Information hastily memorized.

3. (weaving) A warp having more than two threads passing through each dent or split of the reed.
4. (dated, British slang) A lie; a falsehood.
5. (uncountable) A mathematical board game in which players take turns placing dominoes horizontally or vertically until no more can be placed, the loser being the player who cannot continue.
6. A small friendship book with limited space for people to enter their information.
   • 2017, Mark Duffett, Fan Identities and Practices in Context: Dedicated to Music (page 194)

     Regular friendship books had a variety of variations, such as slams, crams, and decos.

Synonyms

• (lie): see Thesaurus:lie

Translations

Anagrams

• MRCA, Marc, macr-, marc, mrca

English

Etymology

From Middle English shrinken, from Old English s?rincan, from Proto-Germanic *skrinkwan?. Cognate with Dutch schrinken (“to shrink”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?????k/
• Rhymes: -??k

Verb

shrink (third-person singular simple present shrinks, present participle shrinking, simple past shrank or shrunk, past participle shrunk or shrunken)

1. (transitive) To cause to become smaller.
2. (intransitive) To become smaller; to contract.
   • And shrink like parchment in consuming fire.

   • 2018, VOA Learning English > China's Melting Glacier Brings Visitors, Adds to Climate Concerns

     Since 1982, it has shrunk by 250 meters.

3. (intransitive) To cower or flinch.

4. (transitive) To draw back; to withdraw.
5. (intransitive, figuratively) To withdraw or retire, as from danger.
   • 1881, Benjamin Jowett (translator), Thucydides

     They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task.

6. (intransitive) To move back or away, especially because of fear or disgust.

Synonyms

• (avoid an unwanted task): funk, shirk
• (withdraw or retire, as from danger): shrink back, retreat

Antonyms

• (to cause to become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch
• (become smaller): expand, grow, enlarge, stretch

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

shrink (plural shrinks)

1. Shrinkage; contraction; recoil.
2. (slang, sometimes derogatory) A psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

   Synonym: head-shrinker

3. (uncountable, business) Loss of inventory, for example due to shoplifting or not selling items before their expiration date.
   • 2011, Charles Sennewald & John Christman, Retail Crime, Security, and Loss Prevention: An Encyclopedic Reference, p. 227:

     Assuming the retailer's shrink is average or below, and the owner is comfortable with the level of shrink, perhaps nothing more need be done except to maintain vigilance and to monitor the shrink for signs of emerging problems.

Usage notes

• (therapist): The slang sense was originally pejorative, expressing a distrust of practitioners in the field. It is now not as belittling or trivializing.

Translations

References

• shrink at OneLook Dictionary Search
• shrink in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.