attrition /əˈtrɪʃən/ noun Learner's 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（由于辞职、退休等引起的）自然减员 -
The staff has been thinned through attrition. [=the staff has become smaller because people have left]由于自然减员，员工队伍已变小。
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Attrition is high among social workers because of the difficult work and poor pay.由于工作辛苦且收入低，社会工作者当中的减员很多。
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a growing attrition rate = a growing rate of attrition不断增长的减员率
— 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消耗；耗损 —
used especially in the phrase war of attrition尤用于短语war of attrition