shrink,
reduce decrease in size, range, or extent; "His earnings shrank"; "My courage shrivelled when I saw the task before me"
reef -
roll up (a portion of a sail) in order to reduce its area
furl,
roll up form a cylinder by rolling; "roll up a banner"
reef -
lower and bring partially inboard; "reef the sailboat's mast"
let down,
take down,
lower,
bring down,
get down reduce in worth or character, usually verbally; "She tends to put down younger women colleagues"; "His critics took him down after the lecture"
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water (six fathoms or less at low water). Many reefs result from abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planning down rock outcrops, and other natural processes—but the best-known reefs are the coral reefs of tropical waters developed through biotic processes dominated by corals and calcareous algae. Artificial reefs such as shipwrecks are sometimes created to enhance physical complexity on generally featureless sand bottoms in order to attract a diverse assemblage of organisms, especially fish.
OmegaWiki Dictionary
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reef A line of rocks in the tidal zone of a coast, submerged at high water but partly uncovered at low water.
