erosion

/əˈroʊʒɪn/

/ɛˈrʌʊʒɛn/

Other forms: erosions

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.

Definitions of erosion

1. noun

   (geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it)
   synonyms: eating away, eroding, wearing, wearing away

   types:

   chatter mark

   marks on a glaciated rock caused by the movement of a glacier

   ablation

   the erosive process that reduces the size of glaciers

   abrasion, attrition, corrasion, detrition

   erosion by friction

   beach erosion

   the erosion of beaches

   deflation

   (geology) the erosion of soil as a consequence of sand and dust and loose rocks being removed by the wind

   planation

   the process of erosion whereby a level surface is produced

   soil erosion

   the washing away of soil by the flow of water

   wash, washout

   the erosive process of washing away soil or gravel by water (as from a roadway)

   type of:

   geologic process, geological process

   (geology) a natural process whereby geological features are modified
2. noun

   condition in which the earth's surface is worn away by natural processes, including weathering, transportation, dissolution, and abrasion
   type of:

   environmental condition

   the state of the environment
3. noun

   a gradual decline of something
   “after the accounting scandal there was an erosion of confidence in the auditors”

   type of:

   decline, diminution

   change toward something smaller or lower
4. noun

   erosion by chemical action
   synonyms: corroding, corrosion

   types:

   indentation, pitting, roughness

   the formation of small pits in a surface as a consequence of corrosion

   rust, rusting

   the formation of reddish-brown ferric oxides on iron by low-temperature oxidation in the presence of water

   type of:

   chemical action, chemical change, chemical process

   (chemistry) any process determined by the atomic and molecular composition and structure of the substances involved