attrit
English
editEtymology
editBack-formation from attrition.
Pronunciation
editVerb
editattrit (third-person singular simple present attrits, present participle attritting, simple past and past participle attritted)
- To wear down through attrition, especially mechanical attrition.
- 1858, James Prinsep, Essays on Indian Antiquities, Historic, Numismatic, and Palæographic[1], page 111:
- […] pebbles of vast size, or blocks of stone, attrited by water to smoothness, conjoined by a cement of mud.
- To engage in attrition; to quit or drop out.
- 1997, Lisa Scottoline, Legal Tender[2], →ISBN, page 77:
- the relatives who had been helping slipped away as I grew older, attriting for various reasons that all amounted to the same reason.
- To be reduced in quantity through attrition.
- (military) To lose, or to kill, troops by attrition due to sustained firepower.
Synonyms
editDerived terms
editTranslations
editNoun
editattrit (plural attrits)
- (countable) One who voluntarily or involuntarily leaves a company; a termed employee.
- 2009, Alan Weiss, Nancy MacKay, The Talent Advantage:
- Throughout the early part of the meeting, a human resources manager kept talking about “attrits," which we thought was some kind of financial product they were reducing or eliminating. It wasn't until she mentioned "minimizing severance options" that we realized she was talking about people.
Synonyms
edit- (a terminated employee): term