1. The process of wearing down or rubbing away by means of friction.
2. 1. A scraped or worn area.
   2. A scraped area on the skin or on a mucous membrane, resulting from injury or irritation.

[Medieval Latin abrāsiō, abrāsiōn-, from Latin abrāsus, past participle of abrādere, to scrape off. See abrade.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.