Make your Mac's Dock smaller or bigger

Why it happens

The Dock's size is set by a slider, and it can end up large after setup or a slip of the mouse. Magnification makes icons swell when you point at them, which can also look like a huge Dock. If your screen is set to bigger text, everything looks larger, the Dock included.

How to fix it

1. Open the Apple menu, choose System Settings and click Desktop & Dock in the sidebar.

2. Drag the Size slider to the left to shrink the Dock, or to the right to make it bigger. The Dock changes as you drag.

   Desktop & Dock›Dock›Size

3. If icons grow when you point at them, turn off Magnification, or lower its slider.

   Desktop & Dock›Dock›Magnification

4. Next time, there's a shortcut. Point at the thin divider line between your apps and the Trash end of the Dock, and when the pointer becomes a double arrow, drag up or down.

Still not fixed?

1. Everything looks big, not just the Dock? Open Displays and pick a resolution that gives more space.

   Displays›Resolution

2. Want the Dock out of the way? Turn on Automatically hide and show the Dock. It slides away until you move the pointer to the bottom.

   Desktop & Dock›Dock›Automatically hide and show the Dock

3. On a wide screen, moving the Dock to the left or right side frees up height.

   Desktop & Dock›Dock›Dock position on screen

4. A Dock full of apps gets long. Drag apps you don't use up out of the Dock until you see Remove, then let go.

5. If the size jumps back after every restart, install the latest macOS update. Contact Apple Support if it keeps happening.