1
Reduce a resource
Use enough of a limited supply to leave much less available.
Example
Years of pumping depleted the underground aquifer.
deplete
/dɪˈpliːt/ · dih-PLEETverb
To reduce the amount or supply of something, often substantially.
Use deplete when continued use, loss, or damage leaves a resource, reserve, or population seriously diminished.
What deplete Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Diminish a population
Reduce the number of organisms or people in a group.
Example
Unregulated hunting depleted the island's bird population.
3
Exhaust strength or reserves
Leave energy, funds, or capacity at a low level.
Example
Emergency repairs depleted the organisation's reserve fund.
Use deplete Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
Years of pumping depleted the underground aquifer.
The restoration project depleted most of the emergency budget.
Repeated crop failures depleted the soil of key nutrients.
Precision Matters
Deplete overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
deplete
vs.Often implies a serious loss through use or removal.
reduce
Broadly means make smaller in amount.
deplete
vs.Describes the effect on the remaining supply.
consume
Describes the act of using or taking in.
deplete
vs.Can leave a supply greatly reduced without reaching zero.
exhaust
Usually means use up completely.
deplete
vs.Diminishes an existing supply.
augment
Increases it by addition—the contrast.
Test deplete in Context
Use greatly reduced a limited underground supply.
1
Because farmers pumped groundwater faster than rainfall could replace it, decades of irrigation began to ___ the aquifer.