Definition of "erosion" []

• The process of eroding or the condition of being eroded: erosion of the beach; progressive erosion of confidence in our legal system; erosion of the value of the dollar abroad. (noun)
• The group of natural processes, including weathering, dissolution, abrasion, corrosion, and transportation, by which material is worn away from the earth's surface. (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.

• "Under the term erosion I include the action of water, of ice, and of the atmosphere, including frost and rain."
• "Both of these trends make sense but I think Lovell makes a more interesting observation when he talks about what he describes as the erosion of the hardcore."
• "Later, explaining his opinion to a reporter, Sununu cited a $250 million state budget deficit; what he called the erosion of family values in the last legislative session; and Lynch's failure to persuade lawmakers from his own party to vote for his constitutional amendment on education."