taper

noun

1. A slender wax candle.

   “Strike on the Tinder, hoa: Giue me a Taper […]”

   “Take not away the Taper, leaue it burning […]”

   “He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.”

   “The red glare of the tapers flung a strange unnatural hue on the painted windows of the little Gothic chapel, where none slept save the noble of name, and the high of blood—purple and crimson, the colours mingled together in fantastic combinations, till the rainbow-hued figures seemed to move with supernatural life.”

   “Love used to carry a bow, you know, But now he carries a taper; It is either a length of wax aglow, Or a twist of lighted paper.”

2. (broadly)A small light.
3. A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object.

   “the taper of a spire”

   “The legs of the table had a slight taper to them.”

   “Her hair hangs over her ears and flows to a taper at the back of her neck where it is held in place with a wide and circular black clasp.”

4. The portion of an object with such a form.

   “ensuring the cleanliness of the taper of a machine tool spindle or of a tool shank”

5. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis)Ellipsis of machine taper.
6. (historical)A long wick or thin stick used for transferring flames to candles, now usually chemically-treated to burn particularly slowly.
7. A cone-shaped item for stretching the hole for an ear gauge (piercing).
8. (figuratively)Gradual reduction over time.

   “a drug taper”

9. One who operates a tape machine.
10. Someone who works with tape or tapes.

verb

1. (transitive)To make thinner or narrower at one end.

   “Though true cylinders without — within, the villainous green goggling glasses deceitfully tapered downwards to a cheating bottom.”

2. (intransitive)To become thinner or narrower at one end.

   “Like other supertall towers, 432 Park relies on the counterweight system to address the forces of wind and reduce the feeling of swaying for residents. But unlike many other supertall towers that are tiered or taper toward the top, 432 Park is rectangular, making it less aerodynamic.”

3. (ambitransitive)To diminish gradually.

   “Current major clinical practice guidelines provide little support for clinicians wishing to help patients discontinue or taper antidepressants in terms of mitigating and managing withdrawal symptoms.”

4. (intransitive)To tighten monetary policy.

adj

1. Tapered; narrowing to a point.