| n. | 1. | The act or operation of eroding or eating away. |
| 2. | The state of being eaten away; corrosion; canker. | |
| 3. | The wearing away of the earth's surface by any natural process. The chief agent of erosion is running water; minor agents are glaciers, the wind, and waves breaking against the coast. | |
| 4. | a gradual reduction or lessening as if by an erosive force; |
| Noun | 1. | erosion - (geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it) |
| 2. | erosion - condition in which the earth's surface is worn away by the action of water and wind | |
| 3. | erosion - a gradual decline of something; "after the accounting scandal there was an erosion of confidence in the auditors" | |
| 4. | erosion - erosion by chemical action |