Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

abrasion

American  
[uh-brey-zhuhn] / əˈbreɪ ʒən /

noun

  1. a scraped spot or area; the result of rubbing or abrading.

    abrasions on his leg caused by falling on the gravel.
    Synonyms:
    lesion, scrape, sore

  2. the act or process of abrading.

    Synonyms:
    erosion, rubbing
abrasion British  
/ əˈbreɪʒən /

noun

  1. the process of scraping or wearing down by friction

  2. a scraped area or spot; graze

  3. geography the effect of mechanical erosion of rock, esp a river bed, by rock fragments scratching and scraping it; wearing down Compare attrition corrasion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
abrasion Scientific  
/ ə-brā′zhən /

  1. The process of wearing away a surface by friction. A rock undergoes abrasion when particles of sand or small pieces of rock are carried across its surface by a glacier, stream, or the wind.

  2. A scraped area on the skin or mucous membranes.

Etymology

Origin of abrasion

1650–60; < Medieval Latin abrāsiōn- (stem of abrāsiō ), equivalent to abrās ( us ) scraped off (past participle of abrādere; abrade ) + -iōn- -ion

Compare meaning

How does abrasion compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.