erosion

American  

[ih-roh-zhuhn] / ɪˈroʊ ʒən /

noun

erosions plural

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

Derived Forms

• antierosion
  adjective
• erosional
  adjective
• erosive
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• erosions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of erosion

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

Explanation

The Grand Canyon is a monumental example of erosion—the entire canyon was carved by the flow of the Colorado River, which slowly dug the canyon out of stone over the course of eons. Erosion is the wearing away of sand, soil, or rock by water or wind. But it also has a metaphorical sense. The erosion of standards for behavior in society means that our grandparents would be shocked by what passes for good manners today.

Example Sentences

In 2012, the club applied for a permit to build a giant steel wall to stop the erosion.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026

Pay erosion had left doctors "feeling undervalued and increasingly concerned about the future of the profession on the island", he added.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

In the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, which has long limited outside influence, viral videos of school bullying have triggered debate over social media's erosion of traditional values.

From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026

Sardis' landscape is vulnerable to natural erosion, while many tumuli have already been damaged by farming.

From Science Daily • Jun. 25, 2026

Maybe the tombstone had sunk at the same rate as the erosion, and the body was only a foot away below me—or an inch.

From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel

Related Words

• corrosion
• decrease
• destruction
• disintegration