Meanings
plural erosions
- uncountableThe result of having been worn away or eroded, as by a glacier on rock or the sea on a cliff face.
Father Ted: The cliffs were gone? How could they just disappear? Dougal: Erosion.
1995, Graham Linehan & al., "Good Luck, Father Ted", Father Ted Series 1, Episode 1, Channel Four1 more example
Even second-generation biofuels, made from crop wastes or wood, are an environmental disaster, either extending the cultivated area or removing the straw and stovers which protect the soil from erosion and keep carbon and nutrients in the ground.
2012 August 24, George Monbiot, Guardian Weekly, page 20 - uncountableThe changing of a surface by mechanical action, friction, thermal expansion contraction, or impact.
- figurativelyuncountableThe gradual loss of something as a result of an ongoing process.
the erosion of a person's trust
2 more examples
trademark erosion, caused by everyday use of the trademarked term
No social system that isn’t built upon the belief to the divine, or morality and traditional values, can withstand the erosion and degeneration of humankind’s morality, including democracy.
2020 November 8, Si Xiang, “The U.S. Election Is a Battle Between Good and Evil”, in Minghui - uncountableDestruction by abrasive action of fluids.
- countableuncountableimage processingmathematicsOne of two fundamental operations in morphological image processing from which all other morphological operations are derived.
- countableuncountabledentistryLoss of tooth enamel due to non-bacteriogenic chemical processes.
- countableuncountablemedicineA shallow ulceration or lesion, usually involving skin or epithelial tissue.
- countableuncountablemathematicsIn morphology, a basic operation (denoted ⊖); see Erosion (morphology).
Synonyms & antonyms
noun(geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it), also figuratively
nounerosion by chemical action
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinērōsiō“eating away”
- Middle Frencherosion
- Englisherosion
From Middle French erosion, from Latin ērōsiō (“eating away”), derived from ērōdō. The first known occurrence in English was in the 1541 translation by Robert Copland of Guy de Chauliac's medical text The Questyonary of Cyrurygens. Copland used erosion to describe how ulcers developed in the mouth. By 1774 erosion was used outside medical subjects. Oliver Goldsmith employed the term in the more contemporary geological context, in his book Natural History, with the quote : "Bounds are thus put to the erosion of the earth by water."
More words from Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ерозия, ерозия
- ерозия (erozija)the result of having being eroded
- ерозия (erozija)the changing of a surface by mechanical action
- разяждане (razjaždane)destruction by abrasive action of fluids
Catalan erosió, erosió
- erosióthe result of having being eroded
- erosióthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- erosiódestruction by abrasive action of fluids
Chinese Mandarin 磨蝕 /磨蚀, 侵蝕 /侵蚀
- 磨蝕 /磨蚀 (móshí)the result of having being eroded
- 侵蝕 /侵蚀 (qīnshí)the result of having being eroded
Czech eroze
- erozethe result of having being eroded
Danish erosion, afslidning
- erosionthe result of having being eroded
- afslidningthe result of having being eroded
- erosionthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- erosiondestruction by abrasive action of fluids
- erosionin dentistry
Dutch erosie, tanderosie
- erosiethe result of having being eroded
- tanderosiein dentistry
Esperanto erozio, erozio
- eroziothe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- eroziodestruction by abrasive action of fluids
Finnish eroosio, kuluminen
- eroosiothe result of having being eroded
- kuluminenthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- eroosiothe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- eroosiodestruction by abrasive action of fluids
- syöpyminendestruction by abrasive action of fluids
French érosion, érosion
- érosionthe result of having being eroded
- érosionthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- érosiondestruction by abrasive action of fluids
- érosion(medicine)
German Erosion, Erosion
- Erosionthe result of having being eroded
- Erosionthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- Erosiondestruction by abrasive action of fluids
- Erosionin dentistry
Greek αποσάθρωση
- αποσάθρωση (aposáthrosi)the result of having being eroded
Hungarian erózió, erózió
- erózióthe result of having being eroded
- erózióthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- eróziódestruction by abrasive action of fluids
Irish líomhadh
- líomhadhthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
Italian erosione
- erosionethe result of having being eroded
Japanese 浸食
- 浸食 (shinshoku)the result of having being eroded
Korean 부식
- 부식 (busik)the result of having being eroded
Latvian erozija, erozija
- erozijathe result of having being eroded
- erozijathe changing of a surface by mechanical action
Māori ngāhorohoro
- ngāhorohorothe changing of a surface by mechanical action
Norwegian Bokmål erosjon, erosjon
- erosjonthe result of having being eroded
- erosjonthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- erosjondestruction by abrasive action of fluids
- erosjonin dentistry
Persian اروزیون
- اروزیون (eroziyon)(medicine)
Polish erozja, erozja
- erozjathe result of having being eroded
- erozjathe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- erozjadestruction by abrasive action of fluids
Portuguese erosão, erosão
- erosãothe result of having being eroded
- erosãothe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- erosãodestruction by abrasive action of fluids
Romanian eroziune, eroziune
- eroziunethe result of having being eroded
- eroziunethe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- erodarethe changing of a surface by mechanical action
Russian эро́зия
- эро́зия (erózija)the result of having being eroded
Slovak erózia
- eróziathe result of having being eroded
Spanish erosión, erosión
- erosiónthe result of having being eroded
- erosiónthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- erosióndestruction by abrasive action of fluids
Swedish erosion
- erosionthe result of having being eroded
Tagalog us-os, sapudpod
- us-osthe result of having being eroded
- sapudpodthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
- pagkapudpodthe changing of a surface by mechanical action
Turkish erozyon
- erozyon(medicine)
Ukrainian еро́зія
- еро́зія (erózija)the result of having being eroded
Vietnamese xói mòn
- xói mònthe result of having being eroded
Welsh erydiad
- erydiadthe result of having being eroded
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
erosion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erosion
“erosion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erosion. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “erosion,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erosion.
Source: erosion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.