erode

[ ih-rohd ]
See synonyms for: erodeerodederodeseroding on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing.
  1. to eat into or away; destroy by slow consumption or disintegration: Battery acid had eroded the engine. Inflation erodes the value of our money.

  2. to form (a gully, butte, or the like) by erosion.

verb (used without object),e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing.
  1. to become eroded.

Origin of erode

1
First recorded in 1605–15; from French ė́roder or directly from Latin ērōdere, equivalent to ē- “out of, from” + rōdere “to gnaw”; see e-1

Other words for erode

Opposites for erode

Other words from erode

  • e·rod·i·ble, e·rod·a·ble, e·ro·si·ble [ih-roh-zuh-buhl, -suh-], /ɪˈroʊ zə bəl, -sə-/, adjective
  • e·rod·i·bil·i·ty, e·rod·a·bil·i·ty, noun
  • non·e·rod·ed, adjective
  • non·e·rod·ing, adjective
  • un·e·rod·a·ble, adjective
  • un·e·rod·ed, adjective
  • un·e·rod·i·ble, adjective
  • un·e·rod·ing, adjective

Words Nearby erode

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use erode in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for erode

erode

/ (ɪˈrəʊd) /


verb
  1. to grind or wear down or away or become ground or worn down or away

  2. to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate: jealousy eroded the relationship

  1. (tr; usually passive) pathol to remove (tissue) by ulceration

Origin of erode

1
C17: from Latin ērōdere, from ex- 1 + rōdere to gnaw

Derived forms of erode

  • erodent, adjective, noun
  • erodible, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012