attrition
Use Attrition in a sentence
ən noun
1.
a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength: Our club has had a high rate of attrition because so many members have moved away.
2.
a wearing down or weakening of resistance, especially as a result of continuous pressure or harassment: The enemy surrounded the town and conducted a war of attrition.
3.
a gradual reduction in work force without firing of personnel, as when workers resign or retire and are not replaced.
4.
the act of rubbing against something; friction.
5.
a wearing down or away by friction; abrasion.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To attrition
00:10
Attrition
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
attrition (əˈtrɪʃən) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the act of wearing away or the state of being worn away, as by friction |
| 2. | constant wearing down to weaken or destroy (often in the phrase war of attrition) |
| 3. | Also called: natural wastage a decrease in the size of the workforce of an organization achieved by not replacing employees who retire or resign |
| 4. | geography abrasion Compare corrasion the grinding down of rock particles by friction during transportation by water, wind, or ice |
| 5. | theol sorrow for sin arising from fear of damnation, esp as contrasted with contrition, which arises purely from love of God |
| [C14: from Late Latin attrītiō a rubbing against something, from Latin atterere to weaken, from terere to rub] | |
| at'tritional | |
| —adj | |
| attritive | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
attrition
1540s, "abrasion, a scraping," from L. attritionem (nom. attritio), lit. "a rubbing against," noun of action from attritus pp. of atterere "to wear, rub away," from ad- "to" + terere "to rub" (see throw). The earliest sense in Eng. is from Scholastic theology (late 14c.),
"sorrow for sin merely out of fear of punishment," a minor irritation, and thus less than contrition. The sense of "wearing down an enemy's strength" is a World War I coinage (1914).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
attrition at·tri·tion (ə-trĭsh'ən)
n.
A wearing away by friction or rubbing, such as the loss of tooth structure caused by abrasive foods or grinding of the teeth.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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