attrition
IPA: ʌtrˈɪʃʌn
noun
- Grinding down or wearing away by friction.
- The gradual reduction in a tangible or intangible resource due to causes that are passive and do not involve productive use of the resource.
- (human resources) A gradual, natural reduction in membership or personnel, as through injury, incapacitation, retirement, resignation, or death.
- (sciences) The loss of participants during an experiment.
- (theology) Imperfect contrition or remorse.
- (dentistry) The wearing of teeth due to their grinding.
- (linguistics) The loss of a first or second language or a portion of that language.
verb
- (transitive) To grind or wear down through friction.
- (transitive) To reduce the number of (jobs or workers) by not hiring new employees to fill positions that become vacant (often with out).
- (intransitive) To undergo a reduction in number.
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Examples of "attrition" in Sentences
- The percentage was attritional.
- This is a high attritional rate.
- Attrition seems to be the name of the game.
- The man tried to change the attritional number rate.
- However, they were to suffer steady attritional losses.
- Attrition and Clan of Xymox are the origin of the style.
- Death of the animals, he thought, was the result of attrition.
- The alternative is battle by attrition, heading for the disruptive.
- Operation Gericht epitomizes the 'materialschlact' or attritional battle.
- Such calculations led to the adoption of the military doctrine of attrition.