corrode
Americanverb (used with object)
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corrodes,
present (3rd person singular)
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corroded,
past participle, past
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corroding
present participle
-
to eat or wear away gradually as if by gnawing, especially by chemical action.
-
to impair; deteriorate.
Jealousy corroded his character.
verb (used without object)
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corrodes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
corroded,
past participle, past
-
corroding
present participle
verb
-
to eat away or be eaten away, esp by chemical action as in the oxidation or rusting of a metal
-
(tr) to destroy gradually; consume
his jealousy corroded his happiness
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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corrodantnoun
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corrodentnoun
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corrodernoun
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corrodibilitynoun
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corrodibleadjective
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noncorrodibleadjective
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noncorrodingadjective
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uncorrodedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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corrodesimple
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corrodessimple
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have corrodedperfect
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has corrodedperfect
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am corrodingprogressive
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are corrodingprogressive
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is corrodingprogressive
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have been corrodingperfect progressive
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has been corrodingperfect progressive
Past
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corrodedsimple
-
had corrodedperfect
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was corrodingprogressive
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were corrodingprogressive
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had been corrodingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of corrode
1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin corrōdere to gnaw to pieces, equivalent to cor- cor- + rōdere to gnaw; akin to rodent
Explanation
Corrode means to eat away at and cause to deteriorate, like rust slowly taking over an old bike left out in the rain. Stemming from a Latin word that means "to gnaw away," corrode is a verb that usually describes destroying a metal by oxidation or by some other kind of chemical action. Acid is particularly corrosive, or able to corrode things easily. The word corrode can also be used figuratively. Way back when, the grandmas of the world thought rock music would corrode the minds of young people. Thank goodness that didn't really pan out.
Vocabulary lists containing corrode
Red Kayak
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen
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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.
See Examples For:
This passive layer helps prevent the underlying metal from continuing to corrode.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
Gold is prized in electronic circuits because it conducts electricity well and does not corrode.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
In such an environment, it is especially reckless to assume that war, no matter how justified, will somehow purify institutions rather than corrode them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
Starring a stacked Guatemalan cast, including actor Tony Revolori, the project underlined the encroaching impacts of climate change that corrode once treasured memories, including those of Moreno, who grew up visiting the vacation destination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
Be a lot of work to clean ’em up and rezinc them, too, so they don’t corrode.
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
It must become a philosophy that corrodes collective faith, collective beliefs, and becomes excessively individualistic.
From Slate ● May 16, 2026
“When an officer turns routine traffic stops into opportunities for theft, for their own benefit, it corrodes public trust and endangers the integrity of our justice system.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
I learned that leaving the knife wet corrodes it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
Whether all this corrodes public trust in politicians and what they say - well that’s a question for another day.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2024
The salt in seawater also corrodes metal and destroys electrical connectors.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
He is right that forward guidance has corroded the central bank’s discipline rather than sharpened it.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
By 2018, the utility knew the concrete pipe had corroded “to the point that exposed rebar could be seen and that if not corrected could result in a catastrophic failure,” the lawsuit states.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
However, the researchers did not look into what happened when the glass was deliberately smashed -- or corroded by chemicals.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
For we did not foresee then a world in which trust in traditional sources of news and information would be corroded by a rising cynicism, turbo-charged by social media and, increasingly now, AI.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
Reestablished in the corroded shell of Fairbanks 142, McCand-less fell back into his routine of hunting and gathering.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
"I cannot describe it. I mean, it looks ugly, really ugly," the 69-year-old said, peering through its corroding gates.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
The confession results in confusion and anger erupting like molten lava from all sides, instantly corroding Emma’s bond with Charlie and her relationships with their friends.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
Mr. McDougall notes that Mary Shelley “had seen it all coming” decades before Dostoyevsky and Nietzsche warned that Europe was corroding itself from within.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
It has been corroding not just in the US but across the western world for decades now.
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
He unsnapped the corroding latches and opened it.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
