Definition

A scraped or worn area on the skin or a surface, often caused by injury or friction.

Example

The doctor treated the abrasion on her knee after she fell off her bike.

Conversation

I got a nasty abrasion on my knee while biking yesterday.

Ouch! That sounds painful. How did it happen?

I fell off the bike when I hit a bump too fast.

Yikes! Make sure to clean it properly to avoid infection.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Abrasive is formed from "ab-" (meaning away) and "radere" (meaning to scrape). The word "abrasion" refers to the act of scraping away or wearing down a surface.

Memory Tip

Think of something that 'scrapes away' ('ab-' means away and 'radere' means to scrape) — that's what abrasion means.

Visually Confused Words