encoger
verbUpper-intermediate
What does “encoger” mean in English?
to shrink, to contract
to shrink, to contract (encoger/se — literal size reduction or figurative market contraction)
Example sentences
El mercado de los medios impresos ha encogido considerablemente ante el crecimiento de las plataformas digitales.
The print media market has shrunk considerably in the face of the growth of digital platforms.
La economía se encogió un tres por ciento durante el primer trimestre del año, según las estimaciones oficiales.
The economy shrank by three per cent during the first quarter of the year, according to official estimates.
Se encogió de hombros y dijo que no era asunto suyo.
He shrugged and said it was none of his business.
How to use it
Encoger means 'to shrink'. Literal: the fabric shrank in the wash (la tela encogió). Figurative/economic: el mercado ha encogido (the market has shrunk). The reflexive encogerse is used for the fabric sense and for idioms: encogerse de hombros (shrug). At B2, the economic and figurative uses are central: shrinking budgets, shrinking markets, shrinking influence. Contrast reducir (to reduce deliberately) — encoger implies involuntary contraction.
Common mistake
Encoger de hombros (shrug) is a fixed phrase — don't say *levantar los hombros. Economic contraction can be encoger or contraerse; reducirse implies someone reduced it deliberately. English 'shrink' in psychology (therapist) is terapeuta or psicólogo, never *encogedor.
Topics
Related Upper-intermediate words
Reference
This entry’s teaching guidance follows Plan Curricular del Instituto Cervantes (Instituto Cervantes), B2 Funciones 7.4.