mechanical weathering

noun

, Geology.

1. any of the various weathering processes that cause physical disintegration of exposed rock without any change in the chemical composition of the rock:

   Collision between rock surfaces can cause mechanical weathering.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mechanical weathering¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Apart from the mechanical weathering of the rocks as a result of the arid climate, wherein rapid and often extreme changes of temperature take place, causing the surface of the rocks to flake or scale off, there has doubtless been unusual chemical weathering, and this has been largely brought about by the element of iron that all these rocks possess.

From Project Gutenberg