erosion

American  

[ih-roh-zhuhn] / ɪˈroʊ ʒən /

noun

1. the act or state of eroding; state of being eroded.

2. the process by which the surface of the earth is worn away by the action of water, glaciers, winds, waves, etc.

3. the gradual decline or disintegration of something.

   Each candidate is blaming the other’s party for the erosion of international trade.

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erosion British  

/ ɪˈrəʊʒən /

noun

1. the wearing away of rocks and other deposits on the earth's surface by the action of water, ice, wind, etc

2. the act or process of eroding or the state of being eroded

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erosion Scientific  

/ ĭ-rō′zhən /

1. The gradual wearing away of land surface materials, especially rocks, sediments, and soils, by the action of water, wind, or a glacier. Usually erosion also involves the transport of eroded material from one place to another, as from the top of a mountain to an adjacent valley, or from the upstream portion of a river to the downstream portion.

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erosion Cultural  

1. A type of weathering in which surface soil and rock are worn away through the action of glaciers, water, and wind.

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Other Word Forms

• antierosion adjective
• erosional adjective
• erosive adjective

Etymology

Origin of erosion

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin ērōsiōn- (stem of ērōsiō ), derivative of ērōdere “to gnaw, eat away”; erode, -ion

Example Sentences

“In the case of a deal, we would see a fairly aggressive erosion of the risk premium currently priced into the market, although reaching a deal is easier said than done,” ING adds.

From The Wall Street Journal

What happened in South Korea, he adds, "shows that democratic erosion is not inevitable and that institutions can successfully constrain authoritarian ambitions... when institutional and societal actors are willing to act".

From BBC

One casualty of the AI spending focus, and the erosion of one of the tech sector’s principal advantages in terms of cash generation, could come in the form of shareholder returns.

From Barron's

They were also able to capture drone images which will help establish a baseline for examining the rate of erosion of this part of the coast - and the risks to other potential sites.

From BBC

India has tightened rules governing the use of artificial intelligence on social media to combat a flood of disinformation, but also prompting warnings of censorship and an erosion of digital freedoms.

From Barron's

Related Words

• corrosion
• decrease
• destruction
• disintegration