as in erosion
a gradual weakening, loss, or destruction
took the machinery out of operation since attrition had led to the main mechanism's breaking
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Recent Examples of attrition
By Game 6, the two best offensive players remaining in the war of attrition resided in Denver.
—
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 May 2026
Taken together, the higher estimate reflects not only the tempo of operations but also the often unseen costs of attrition, as material lost in the field reshapes the ledger.
—Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Union Pacific has promised that every union employee who has a job with either railroad at the time of the merger will have a job for life although the workforce could still shrink through attrition if the number of shipments slows down.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
With presidential critiques, a war of attrition on late-night TV and the mile-a-minute media cycle of 2026, what place does political comedy have in our modern world?
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for attrition
Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 1 May 2026
Taken together, the higher estimate reflects not only the tempo of operations but also the often unseen costs of attrition, as material lost in the field reshapes the ledger.
—Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Union Pacific has promised that every union employee who has a job with either railroad at the time of the merger will have a job for life although the workforce could still shrink through attrition if the number of shipments slows down.
—Josh Funk, Chicago Tribune, 30 Apr. 2026
With presidential critiques, a war of attrition on late-night TV and the mile-a-minute media cycle of 2026, what place does political comedy have in our modern world?
—Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for attrition
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attrition
erosion
Noun
-
The miss was driven by faster-than-expected generic erosion of the company's best-selling medicines Entresto, Promacta, and Tasigna, which each missed by between 7% and 17%, according to Citi analysts.—
Elsa Ohlen,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
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Investigators say initial reports said that a bass boat had hit a breakwater, which is a long wall usually built by the shore to reduce erosion.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Attrition.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attrition. Accessed 8 May. 2026.
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