attrition
1 ENTRIES FOUND:
Britannica Dictionary definition of ATTRITION
[noncount]
formal
1
chiefly US
:
a reduction in the number of employees or participants that occurs when people leave because they resign, retire, etc., and are not replaced
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The staff has been thinned through attrition. [=the staff has become smaller because people have left]
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Attrition is high among social workers because of the difficult work and poor pay.
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a growing attrition rate = a growing rate of attrition
— called also
(British)
natural wastage
2
:
the act or process of weakening and gradually defeating an enemy through constant attacks and continued pressure over a long period of time
— used especially in the phrase war of attrition
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They can only gain victory by fighting a long war of attrition.
