Definition of Erosion

1. Noun. (geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it).


2. Noun. Condition in which the earth's surface is worn away by the action of water and wind.
Generic synonyms: Environmental Condition
Derivative terms: Erode, Erode

3. Noun. A gradual decline of something. "After the accounting scandal there was an erosion of confidence in the auditors"
Generic synonyms: Decline, Diminution

4. Noun. Erosion by chemical action.
Exact synonyms: Corroding, Corrosion
Generic synonyms: Chemical Action, Chemical Change, Chemical Process
Specialized synonyms: Indentation, Pitting, Roughness, Rust, Rusting
Derivative terms: Corrode, Corrode, Corrode, Corrode

Definition of Erosion

1. n. The act or operation of eroding or eating away.

2. n. The wearing away of the earth's surface by any natural process. The chief agent of erosion is running water; minor agents are glaciers, the wind, and waves breaking against the coast.

Definition of Erosion

1. Noun. (context: uncountable) The result of having been being worn away or eroded, as by a glacier on rock or the sea on a cliff face ¹

2. Noun. (context: uncountable) The changing of a surface by mechanical action, friction, thermal expansion contraction, or impact. ¹

3. Noun. (context: uncountable) Destruction by abrasive action of fluids. ¹

4. Noun. (mathematics image processing) One of two fundamental operations in morphological image processing from which all other morphological operations are derived. ¹

5. Noun. (dentistry) Loss of tooth enamel due to non-bacteriogenic chemical processes. ¹

6. Noun. (medicine) A shallow ulceration or lesion, usually involving skin or epithelial tissue. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Erosion

1. the act of eroding [n -S]

Medical Definition of Erosion

1. 1. An eating away, destruction of the surface of a tissue, material or structure. 2. Progressive loss of the hard substance of a tooth by chemical processes that do not involve bacterial action. See: abrasion. 3. A gradual breakdown or very shallow ulceration of the skin which involves only the epidermis and heals without scarring. Origin: L. Erosio, from erodere = to eat out This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Erosion

erogations
erogenicity
erogenous zones
eromenoi
erose
erose leaf
erosely
eroses
erosible
erosion (current term)
erosional
erosionally
erosions
erosive
erosive adenomatosis of nipple
erosive gastritis
erosiveness
erosivenesses
erosivities
erosivity
erostrate
erotema
erotemas
eroteme

Literary usage of Erosion

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Science by American Association for the Advancement of Science (1922)
"erosion " means " gnawing away," and is properly used to include all natural processes which have their origin at the earth's surface and which involve the ..."

2. Report of the Annual Meeting (1858)
"It is indeed the erosion that is most highly and generally developed in ... The erosion of the rivers consists in their constantly deepening their beds, ..."

3. Elements of Geology: A Text-book for Colleges and for the General Reader by Joseph LeConte (1891)
"DENUDATION, OR GENERAL erosion. As a fit ending of Part II, and preparation for Part III, in which the idea of time is the underlying element, ..."

4. Field Geology by Frederic Henry Lahee (1917)
"Local Unconformity; Contemporaneous erosion.—Sometimes deposition is interrupted by a period of erosion. The beds already laid down ..."

5. The Journal of Geology by University of Chicago Department of Geology and Paleontology (1906)
"GLACIAL erosion IN THE FINGER LAKE REGION OF CENTRAL NEW YORK' RALPH S. TARR Cornell University, Ithaca, NY The origin of the Finger Lake valleys was ..."

6. Geographical Essays by William Morris Davis (1909)
"XXIV GLACIAL erosion IN FRANCE, SWITZERLAND, AND NORWAY Introduction. Many years ago I presented to the Boston Society of National History an essay on ..."

7. Soil Conservation: An Assessment of the National Resources Inventory by National Research Council Staff, National Research Council, Board on Agriculture (1986)
"The EPIC model is a sophisticated descendent of the Yield Soil Loss Simulator, the model used to evaluate erosion-productivity effects in the 1980 RCA ..."

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