attrition meaning and examples

Meaning

Attrition is a noun that means a gradual reduction in the number, strength, or effectiveness of something, especially through natural or continuous loss (such as employees leaving a company, customers declining, or resources wearing away).

In business, “attrition” often refers to employee turnover — the rate at which employees leave a company and are not immediately replaced.

Grammar and Usage

• Part of speech: Noun

• Uncountable noun (usually used without “a”)

• Common structures:

  • employee attrition rate
  • attrition through natural causes
  • reduce attrition by improving job satisfaction

Types of Attrition (Business Context)

• Voluntary attrition: Employees choose to leave.
• Involuntary attrition: Employees are terminated or laid off.
• Natural attrition: Positions are left unfilled after departures.

Common Phrases

• employee attrition
• customer attrition
• attrition rate
• natural attrition
• reduce attrition
• attrition level

Collocations

Examples

1. The company is facing a high employee attrition rate due to poor management.
2. HR implemented new policies to reduce attrition and improve morale.
3. Customer attrition has increased since the competitor launched a similar product.
4. The attrition of troops during the long battle weakened the army.
5. Over time, natural attrition reduced the workforce by 10%.
6. Colleges often experience some level of student attrition each semester.
7. The manager analyzed the attrition data to identify retention problems.
8. In marketing, customer attrition is also called “churn.”
9. The company plans to cut costs through attrition rather than layoffs.
10. The attrition of materials in the machine led to frequent repairs.

Synonyms or Related

• turnover
• reduction
• erosion
• decline
• weakening
• loss
• decay

Antonym

• retention
• growth
• recruitment