v. i. [ imp. Shrank r Shrunk pos>p. p. Shrunk or Shrunken but the latter is now seldom used except as a participial adjective; p. pr. & vb. n. Shrinking. ] [ OE. shrinken, schrinken, AS. scrincan; akin to OD. schrincken, and probably to Sw. skrynka a wrinkle, skrynkla to wrinkle, to rumple, and E. shrimp, n. & v., scrimp. CF. Shrimp. ] 1. To wrinkle, bend, or curl; to shrivel; hence, to contract into a less extent or compass; to gather together; to become compacted. [ 1913 Webster ]

And on a broken reed he still did stay
His feeble steps, which shrunk when hard thereon he lay. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

I have not found that water, by mixture of ashes, will shrink or draw into less room. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Against this fire do I shrink up. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

And shrink like parchment in consuming fire. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

All the boards did shrink. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To withdraw or retire, as from danger; to decline action from fear; to recoil, as in fear, horror, or distress. [ 1913 Webster ]

What happier natures shrink at with affright,
The hard inhabitant contends is right. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

They assisted us against the Thebans when you shrank from the task. Jowett (Thucyd.) [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To express fear, horror, or pain by contracting the body, or part of it; to shudder; to quake. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To cause to contract or shrink; as, to shrink finnel by imersing it in boiling water. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To draw back; to withdraw. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The Libyc Hammon shrinks his horn. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

To shrink on (Mach.), to fix (one piece or part) firmly around (another) by natural contraction in cooling, as a tire on a wheel, or a hoop upon a cannon, which is made slightly smaller than the part it is to fit, and expanded by heat till it can be slipped into place. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act shrinking; shrinkage; contraction; also, recoil; withdrawal. [ 1913 Webster ]

Yet almost wish, with sudden shrink,
That I had less to praise. Leigh Hunt. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ Contraction of head-shrinker, a colloquial term for psychiatrist. ] a psychiatrist. [ Coll. ] [ PJC ]

n. 1. The act of shrinking; a contraction into less bulk or measurement. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The amount of such contraction; the bulk or dimension lost by shrinking, as of grain, castings, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Decrease in value; depreciation. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who shrinks; one who withdraws from danger. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & n. from Shrink. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shrinking head (Founding), a body of molten metal connected with a mold for the purpose of supplying metal to compensate for the shrinkage of the casting; -- called also sinking head, and riser. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a shrinking manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

, n. same as shrink-wrap, n.. [ PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. shrink-wrapped or shrink"wrapped p. pr. & vb. n. shrink"wrapping or shrink"-wrapping.] to wrap and seal (an object for sale) in a transparent sheet of plastic material that is shrunken to a tight-fitting wrapping by the application of heat. [PJC]

, n. a type of plastic film, usually transparent, that shrinks upon application of heat, and may be used to form a wrapping around objects that fits tightly and closely follows the contours of the wrapped object; -- also called shrink-pack, shrinkpack or shrink-wrapping. [ PJC ]