corrode

[kuh-rohd]

See more synonyms for corrode on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), cor·rod·ed, cor·rod·ing.

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), cor·rod·ed, cor·rod·ing.

to become corroded.

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

Related formscor·rod·ent, nouncor·rod·er, nouncor·rod·i·ble, adjectivecor·rod·i·bil·i·ty, nounnon·cor·rod·i·ble, adjectivenon·cor·rod·ing, adjective, nounun·cor·rod·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for corrode

impair, rot, erode, rust, deteriorate, gnaw, consume, bite, canker, oxidize, scour, corrupt, destroy, waste

Examples from the Web for corrode

Contemporary Examples of corrode

It would be tempting, at this point, to say that the Internet will corrode religious authority and usher in the Great Secular Age.
God vs. the Internet. And the Winner is…
Michael Schulson
November 16, 2014
They can corrode through whatever human tissue they contact if swallowed or stuck into an orifice, sometimes in a matter of hours.
Kids Eat the Darndest Things: Laundry Pods, Teething Necklaces, and More Of The Weirdest Stuff Sending Kids to the E.R.
Russell Saunders
November 14, 2014
Throwing hot fat into your trash can will melt the bag, and pouring it down the sink will corrode the pipes.
America's Bacon Addiction
Sarah Whitman-Salkin
June 30, 2009

Historical Examples of corrode

His limbs lost their flexibility, and some of his wiring started to corrode.
Beside Still Waters
Robert Sheckley
Put vaseline on the wire so the fumes of gas will not corrode it.
The Automobile Storage Battery
O. A. Witte
Salt solutions, such as sea water, corrode the metal rapidly.
An Elementary Study of Chemistry
William McPherson
Such a mixture would, in all probability, corrode sheet-iron.
Cakes & Ale
Edward Spencer
So tallow and the like should not be placed where they can corrode iron or steel.
Farm Engines and How to Run Them
James H. Stephenson

British Dictionary definitions for corrode

corrode

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; consumehis jealousy corroded his happiness

Derived Formscorrodant or corrodent, nouncorroder, nouncorrodible, adjectivecorrodibility, noun

Word Origin for corrode

C14: from Latin corrōdere to gnaw to pieces, from rōdere to gnaw; see rodent, rat

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

Word Origin and History for corrode

c.1400, from Old French corroder (14c.) or directly from Latin corrodere "to gnaw to bits, wear away," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + rodere "to gnaw" (see rodent). Related: Corroded; corroding.