Erosion
Erosion , noun
[Latin erosio. See Erode.]
1.
The act or operation of eroding or eating away.
2.
The state of being eaten away; corrosion; canker.
3.
The wearing away of the earth's surface by any natural process. The chief agent of erosion is running water; minor agents are glaciers, the wind, and waves breaking against the coast.
4.
a gradual reduction or lessening as if by an erosive force; as, erosion of political support due to scandal; erosion of buying power by inflation. [figurative]