abrasion

[ uh-brey-zhuhn ]
See synonyms for: abrasionabrasions on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a scraped spot or area; the result of rubbing or abrading: abrasions on his leg caused by falling on the gravel.

  2. the act or process of abrading.

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Origin of abrasion

1
1650–60; <Medieval Latin abrāsiōn- (stem of abrāsiō), equivalent to abrās(us) scraped off (past participle of abrādere;see abrade) + -iōn--ion

Other words for abrasion

Words Nearby abrasion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use abrasion in a sentence

  • Kerry bent yet lower, staring closely at a discolored abrasion on Sir Lucien's forehead.

    Dope | Sax Rohmer
  • The average loss by abrasion of coin is estimated by Professor Bowen at one-twentieth of one per cent.

  • These were determinations of the annual wasting of the ice-surface, whether by evaporation, melting, or wind-abrasion.

    The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
  • The effect of constant abrasion upon the snow's surface is to harden it, and, finally, to carve ridges known as sastrugi.

    The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
  • He would espy the beauty of an old binding through any amount of abrasion and laceration.

    There and Back | George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for abrasion

abrasion

/ (əˈbreɪʒən) /


noun
  1. the process of scraping or wearing down by friction

  2. a scraped area or spot; graze

  1. geography the effect of mechanical erosion of rock, esp a river bed, by rock fragments scratching and scraping it; wearing down: Compare attrition (def. 4), corrasion

Origin of abrasion

1
C17: from Medieval Latin abrāsiōn-, from the past participle of Latin abrādere to abrade

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for abrasion

abrasion

[ ə-brāzhən ]


  1. The process of wearing away a surface by friction. A rock undergoes abrasion when particles of sand or small pieces of rock are carried across its surface by a glacier, stream, or the wind.

  2. A scraped area on the skin or mucous membranes.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.