weathering

noun weath·er·ing \ ˈwet͟h-riŋ , ˈwe-t͟hə- \

|Updated on: 8 Jul 2018

Definition of weathering

: the action of the weather conditions in altering the color, texture, composition, or form of exposed objects; specifically : the physical disintegration and chemical decomposition of earth materials at or near the earth's surface

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Recent Examples of weathering from the Web

The red clay soil of Alabama, a form of ultisol, is produced by intense weathering, season after season with no new soil.

— danielle jackson, Longreads, "Alabama’s History Haunts, But It Also Instructs," 27 June 2018
Over geologic time, Earth’s CO2 is regulated by the balance between volcanic outgassing, which adds CO2 to the atmosphere, and CO2 removal by chemical weathering of rocks.

— scott denning, Washington Post, "May the 4th be with Earth, a perfect planet that’s not too Hoth or Tatooine," 4 May 2018
Turquoise forms near the surface as a product of copper weathering, typically caused by rainwater or groundwater.

— New York Times, "Aztec Turquoise Tiles May Solve a Mesoamerican Mystery," 13 June 2018
The surface of the marble shows a type of weathering once thought possible only through the passage of centuries and impossible to fabricate artificially.

— christopher knight, latimes.com, "Something's missing from the newly reinstalled antiquities collection at the Getty Villa," 19 Apr. 2018
Roman concrete has a weaker tensile strength than rebar concrete, as one might imagine, but its ability to stand up to erosion and weathering is unparalleled.

— jonathan schifman, Popular Mechanics, "The Rock Solid History of Concrete," 12 Oct. 2017
Instead, chemical weathering of rock and burial of organic carbon in the ocean seem to have been the main drivers of the removal of carbon from the atmosphere, a process that took well over 100,000 years.

— john timmer, Ars Technica, "New study: We’re outpacing the most radical climate event we know of," 30 Aug. 2017
Or the look of a shape-shifting lizard which, with age and weathering, Johnny Hallyday increasingly resembled: living from day to day, adapting to every fashion, at home in no particular place.

— The Economist, "A star for all seasonsObituary: Johnny Hallyday died on December 6th," 14 Dec. 2017
In the most dramatic example of the bunch, a Stop sign altered with what looks like natural weathering was consistently seen by the neural network as a 45 mph speed limit sign.

— david z. morris, Fortune, "Researchers Show How Simple Stickers Could Trick Self-Driving Cars," 2 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'weathering.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.