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erode

[ ih-rohd ]
/ ɪˈroʊd /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR erode ON THESAURUS.COM

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

to eat into or away; destroy by slow consumption or disintegration: Battery acid had eroded the engine. Inflation erodes the value of our money.
to form (a gully, butte, or the like) by erosion.

verb (used without object), e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing.

to become eroded.

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RELATED WORDS

destroy, corrode, gnaw, consume, disintegrate, bite, crumble, scour, spoil, waste, eat, abrade

Nearby words

  1. ernestine,
  2. ernie,
  3. ernst,
  4. ernst, max,
  5. ero,
  6. erodent,
  7. erogenic,
  8. erogenous,
  9. erogenous zone,
  10. eroica symphony

Origin of erode

1605–15; < Latin ērōdere, equivalent to ē- e-1 + rōdere to gnaw
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for erode

British Dictionary definitions for erode

erode

/ (ɪˈrəʊd) /

verb

to grind or wear down or away or become ground or worn down or away
to deteriorate or cause to deterioratejealousy eroded the relationship
(tr; usually passive) pathol to remove (tissue) by ulceration
Derived Formserodent, adjective, nounerodible, adjective

Word Origin for erode

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

erode

v.

1610s, a back-formation from erosion, or else from French éroder, from Latin erodere "to gnaw away, consume" (see erosion). Related: Eroded; eroding. Originally of acids, ulcers, etc.; geological sense is from 1830.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for erode

erode

[ ĭ-rōd′ ]

v.

To wear away by or as if by abrasion.
To eat into; ulcerate.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.