Definitions
1.nounDownward movement, fall.
2.nounA sloping downward, e.g. of a hill or road.
3.nounA weakening.
4.nounA reduction or diminution of activity.
5.nounThe act of declining or refusing something.
6.verbTo move downwards, to fall, to drop."The dollar has declined rapidly since 2001."
7.verbTo become weaker or worse."My health declined in winter."
8.verbTo bend downward; to bring down; to depress; to cause to bend, or fall.
9.verbTo cause to decrease or diminish.
10.verbTo turn or bend aside; to deviate; to stray; to withdraw."a line that declines from straightness"
11.verbTo refuse, forbear."On reflection I think I will decline your generous offer."
12.verb(grammar, usually of substantives, adjectives and pronouns) To inflect for case, number and sometimes gender.
13.verb(by extension) To run through from first to last; to repeat like a schoolboy declining a noun.
14.verbTo reject a penalty against the opposing team, usually because the result of accepting it would benefit the non-penalized team less than the preceding play."The team chose to decline the fifteen-yard penalty because their receiver had caught the ball for a thirty-yard gain."