Link Centre Dictionary

attrition

att·ri·tion

UK/əˈtɹɪʃn̩/ US/əˈtɹɪʃən/ rare

noun

1.
2.

the wearing down of rock particles by friction due to water or wind or ice

Synonyms
3.

sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation

Synonyms
4.

a wearing down to weaken or destroy

  • “a war of attrition”
5.

Origin

15th century, from Middle English attricion, attricioun, from Middle French attricion, attrition and its etymon, Latin attrītiō (“a rubbing against”), from the verb attrītus, past participle of atterō (“to wear”), from ad- (“to, towards”) + terō (“to rub”). By surface analysis, attrit + -ion.

Phrases

  • attrition bias
  • attrition damage
  • attrition warfare
  • war of attrition

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.