abrasion

US/əˈbɹeɪ.ʒən/

nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #11,516 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: abrasions

Abrasion is wearing away by rubbing. Abrasion resistance, minor abrasions, abrasion of the rock.

In medicine an abrasion is a graze: skin scraped off rather than cut. In geology it is how rivers and glaciers carve their valleys, using the sand and stone they carry as the tool. Abrasion resistance is what a hard-wearing material is sold on.

Definitions of abrasion

1nounabrasionWearing away by rubbing.C1
“Centuries of abrasion by people's feet had worn a dip in the stone steps.”

abrasion is a wearing.

Where it comes from

Latin abrasio comes from abradere, to scrape off — ab, away, plus radere, to scrape.

Latin
abrādō — scrape off
Medieval Latin
abrasio — a scraping
French
abrasion
English, today
abrasion

1656. From French abrasion (attested since 1611), from Medieval Latin abrasio (“a scraping”), from Latin abrādō (“scrape off”). See also abrade.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Rocks & Minerals

Practise this word

abrasion in the wild

An abrasion is a partial thickness wound caused by damage to the skin.
Abrasion (medicine)
A more traumatic abrasion that removes all layers of skin is called an avulsion.
Abrasion (medicine)
The appearance may vary depending on the cause of abrasion, however most commonly presents in a V-shaped caused by excessive lateral pressure whilst tooth-brushing.
Dental abrasion
Corneal abrasion is a scratch to the surface of the cornea of the eye.
Corneal abrasion
Evidence does not support the usefulness of eye patching for those with simple abrasions.
Corneal abrasion

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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