erode

[ ih-rohd ]
/ ɪˈroʊd /

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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Origin of erode

1605–15; < Latin ērōdere, equivalent to ē- e-1 + rōdere to gnaw

OTHER WORDS FROM erode

Words nearby erode

ernest, ernestine, ernie, ernst, ero, erode, erodent, erogenous, erogenous zone, eroica symphony, eros
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for erodible

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 forms of erode

erodent, 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

Medical definitions for erodible

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.