noun
erosion
ih-ROH-zhuhn
noun
1
The gradual wearing away of land or rock by water, wind, or ice.
"Coastal erosion has claimed several metres of beach in the past decade."
"Farmers plant trees to reduce soil erosion."
2
The gradual weakening or loss of something over time.
"There has been a slow erosion of workers' rights over the years."
How to Use Erosion
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe slow wearing-away of something, whether physical land or an abstract thing like trust or rights.
Common pairings
soil erosion
coastal erosion
erosion of trust
erosion of rights
Word Forms
erosions plural
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Coastal _____ has claimed several metres of beach in the past decade.
Etymology
From Latin ērōsiō, "eating away," from ērōdere ("to erode"). First used in English in the 1500s to describe ulcers wearing away tissue, before spreading to geology by the 1700s.