Definition of "degradation" []

• The act or process of degrading. (noun)
• The state of being degraded; degeneration. (noun)
• A decline to a lower condition, quality, or level. (noun)
• Geology A general lowering of the earth's surface by erosion or weathering. (noun)
• Chemistry Decomposition of a compound by stages, exhibiting well-defined intermediate products. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Protein degradation is a major cause of ageing and can be the result of attacks on proteins by other molecules."
• "It was first believed that controlled protein degradation is used only to destroy faulty proteins, which may otherwise damage the cell."
• "Periodic protein degradation is an important control mechanism of the cell cycle."