corrode

American  

[kuh-rohd] / kəˈroʊd /

verb (used with object)

corroded, corroding

1. to eat or wear away gradually as if by gnawing, especially by chemical action.

2. to impair; deteriorate.

   Jealousy corroded his character.

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verb (used without object)

corroded, corroding

1. to become corroded.

corrode British  

/ kəˈrəʊd /

verb

1. to eat away or be eaten away, esp by chemical action as in the oxidation or rusting of a metal

2. (tr) to destroy gradually; consume

   his jealousy corroded his happiness

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Other Word Forms

• corrodant noun
• corrodent noun
• corroder noun
• corrodibility noun
• corrodible adjective
• noncorrodible adjective
• noncorroding adjective
• uncorroded adjective

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

Example Sentences

That incident prompted Japanese authorities to step up efforts to replace corroded pipes across the country.

From BBC

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

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

The criticism forced Attorney General Eric Holder to apologize and led to new Justice Department policies sharply limiting investigations of journalists, recognizing that targeting reporters to identify sources corrodes the First Amendment itself.

From Salon

They worry the practice could mislead voters and corrode trust in nonpartisan news providers.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• deteriorate
• erode
• impair
• rot
• rust