slight decrease

You usually place this phrase after a verb like showed or experienced. For example, "The temperature showed a slight decrease this morning." You can also use it as a subject: "A slight decrease in noise made the office much better." It’s a very flexible pair of words. Just remember that slight is the adjective describing the decrease.

This is your best friend in professional settings. Use it during business presentations to explain why sales are a tiny bit lower. It’s also great for talking about health, like a slight decrease in blood pressure. Use it when you want to sound objective and measured. It’s perfect for news reports or scientific observations where accuracy matters most. Even in daily life, it works when discussing your phone battery or the price of gas.

Don't use this if something has crashed or plummeted. If your car's value dropped by half, calling it a slight decrease sounds like a joke. Avoid it in very emotional personal situations. You wouldn't say there is a slight decrease in your love for someone—that’s just cold! Also, in super casual slang-heavy conversations, it might sound a bit too "textbook."

English speakers, especially in the UK and US, love using "understatements." We often prefer to sound cautious rather than dramatic. Using slight decrease is a way to stay polite and professional without sounding alarmist. It reflects a culture that values data and steady progress. It became a staple of corporate language in the mid-20th century as data reporting became more common.

You might hear people say minor drop or small decline. If you want to sound even more formal, try marginal reduction. In casual talk, you might just say it dipped a bit. However, slight decrease remains the gold standard for being clear and professional at the same time.