Synonyms

erode

American

[ih-rohd] / ɪˈroʊd /

verb (used with object)

eroded, eroding

to eat into or away; destroy by slow consumption or disintegration.

Battery acid had eroded the engine. Inflation erodes the value of our money.

Synonyms:

spoil , ravage , waste , corrode

Antonyms:

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

verb (used without object)

eroded, eroding

to become eroded.

erode British

/ ɪˈrəʊd /

verb

to grind or wear down or away or become ground or worn down or away
to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate

jealousy eroded the relationship
(tr; usually passive) pathol to remove (tissue) by ulceration

"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

Other Word Forms

erodability noun
erodable adjective
erodent adjective
erodibility noun
erodible adjective
erosible adjective
noneroded adjective
noneroding adjective
unerodable adjective
uneroded adjective
unerodible adjective
uneroding adjective

Etymology

Origin of erode

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The funnier part is when I have to call someone to look at the road because it is eroding or something, and then they show up and start laughing.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some of that support has eroded as he has put in place stringent immigration restrictions, political analysts said, particularly among Venezuelans.

From The Wall Street Journal

While OPEC+'s strategy has contributed to a supply glut that weighed on crude prices and effectively eroded some of the group's profits, experts say a mix of other factors offset them.

From Barron's

“Public misunderstanding of these losses could complicate communication and erode support for the Fed’s independence,” wrote Asher Rose, a former research analyst at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, this summer.

From Barron's

Much of what made this happen is being “eroded.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023