Dry sliding wear experiments were conducted on self-mated polycrystalline alumina using a ball-on-disk configuration. Instantaneous nominal pressures and corresponding wear rates were calculated from the measured contact diameter during sliding. Nominal pressure decreased with sliding and the wear rate decreased with decreasing pressure. These results show a good correlation between the nominal pressure and the wear rate, implying the importance of nominal pressure on the wear behavior of alumina. Although such a correlation is not new for metals, it is for ceramics.