erode

American  

[ih-rohd] / ɪˈroʊd /

verb (used with object)

• erodes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• eroded,
  past participle,  past
• eroding
  present participle

1. 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

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

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verb (used without object)

• erodes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• eroded,
  past participle,  past
• eroding
  present participle

1. to become eroded.

erode British  

/ ɪˈrəʊd /

verb

1. to grind or wear down or away or become ground or worn down or away

2. to deteriorate or cause to deteriorate

   jealousy eroded the relationship

3. (tr; usually passive) pathol to remove (tissue) by ulceration

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Participles

• eroding
  present
• eroded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• erode
  simple
• erodes
  simple
• have eroded
  perfect
• has eroded
  perfect
• am eroding
  progressive
• are eroding
  progressive
• is eroding
  progressive
• have been eroding
  perfect progressive
• has been eroding
  perfect progressive

Past

• eroded
  simple
• had eroded
  perfect
• was eroding
  progressive
• were eroding
  progressive
• had been eroding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will erode
  simple
• will have eroded
  perfect
• will be eroding
  progressive
• will have been eroding
  perfect progressive

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”; see e- ¹

Explanation

When soil or land erodes, it wears away or is removed. Many beaches seem to get smaller and smaller, as the endless wash of the waves begins to erode the fine sand. While erode is most commonly used when describing land loss, you can also use it in less literal ways. Numerous hospital bills can cause your savings to erode. Each time you catch your friend in a lie, your trust in her erodes a little more. Consumer confidence is eroding away as the media reports more and more bad economic news. What’s key here is both the sense of loss, as well as the idea that it is a gradual process.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

erode erodes eroded eroding

In his first public comments on the transaction, Ellison rejected claims that a combined media giant would exert excessive control over the market or erode newsroom independence.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

As permafrost thaws and coastlines erode, some of that carbon is carried into the ocean.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

"These AI-generated fakes, growing more common, may also erode public trust in satellite imagery, and make the jobs of journalists and researchers more difficult."

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Mental-health professionals warn that using chatbots as social buffers can erode self-trust and signal a lack of care to recipients.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

He blamed Ron and Hermione: Their determined indifference was as bad as the relentless rain for dampening his spirits, but neither could erode his certainty, which remained absolute.

From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

“That might not show up immediately, but over time people do recognize that change, and over time it erodes the brand positioning,” Stephens analyst Jim Salera said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026

"Improved public services and better learning outcomes in schools will reinforce trust -- but if AI embeds bias in government decisions or erodes data privacy, that trust will be difficult to recover," said the statement.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

“Every time City Hall fails to do that— potholes that don’t get fixed, streetlights that stay dark, 911 calls that go unanswered — it erodes people’s faith that government can solve problems at all.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

But such heavy commercial appeal erodes all that singularity, leaving queer people to fend for themselves in defining and celebrating their identities, apart from the pinkwashing.

From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026

The snow erodes, leaving the potholes in the roads near our house filled with muddy water.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

The social contract forged by the Revolution, he said, "has eroded" in recent years.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

Freshly eroded fragments make the coastal ocean cloudy, while dissolved organic carbon can darken the water.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

After months of war eroded the market’s inventory buffers, crude prices have risen sharply to reflect the risk of further losses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli re-established the comfortable championship lead that had been eroded in the past three races with victory in the Belgian Grand Prix while team-mate George Russell crashed out.

From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026

But now she felt numb, as if by the fifth time repeating it, throwing herself against the rocks of her grief, they had finally eroded, leaving nothing but smooth cold emptiness behind.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

But trust in Infantino at the highest levels of global soccer had been eroding for months, according to high-ranking officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

Media observers say the public anger reflected years of eroding confidence.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

This misperception carries profound consequences and is currently rippling through our world, eroding trust, deepening isolation and creating a social environment in which empathy is swiftly becoming an atrophied muscle in desperate need of exercise.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

While that may have been good policy in the past since those workers often had an easier time working longer, that gap may be eroding.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026

But I said "eroding market" because I decided that I wanted to play the opposite game.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Related Words

• corrode
• destroy