corrode
Americanverb (used with object)
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corrodes,
present (3rd person singular)
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corroded,
past participle, past
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corroding
present participle
-
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)
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corrodes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
corroded,
past participle, past
-
corroding
present participle
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; consume
his jealousy corroded his happiness
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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corrodantnoun
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corrodentnoun
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corrodernoun
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corrodibilitynoun
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corrodibleadjective
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noncorrodibleadjective
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noncorrodingadjective
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uncorrodedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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corrodesimple
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corrodessimple
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have corrodedperfect
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has corrodedperfect
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am corrodingprogressive
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are corrodingprogressive
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is corrodingprogressive
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have been corrodingperfect progressive
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has been corrodingperfect progressive
Past
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corrodedsimple
-
had corrodedperfect
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was corrodingprogressive
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were corrodingprogressive
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had been corrodingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
Corrode means to eat away at and cause to deteriorate, like rust slowly taking over an old bike left out in the rain. Stemming from a Latin word that means "to gnaw away," corrode is a verb that usually describes destroying a metal by oxidation or by some other kind of chemical action. Acid is particularly corrosive, or able to corrode things easily. The word corrode can also be used figuratively. Way back when, the grandmas of the world thought rock music would corrode the minds of young people. Thank goodness that didn't really pan out.
Vocabulary lists containing corrode
Red Kayak
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As these planes age, they can corrode and require increasingly complex, time-consuming maintenance to keep them flight-ready.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The EU executive, however, has repeatedly insisted the new rules would not corrode national labour and tax laws.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Starring a stacked Guatemalan cast, including actor Tony Revolori, the project underlined the encroaching impacts of climate change that corrode once treasured memories, including those of Moreno, who grew up visiting the vacation destination.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
Committee chair Matt Western warned mishandling similar future cases will "corrode public trust".
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2025
Fortunately, as Marilyn Frye has noted, every birdcage has a door, and every birdcage can be broken and can corrode.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
I learned that leaving the knife wet corrodes it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025
"Everyone must lie", she says, because "to be honest is dangerous"; and yet "lying corrodes the team", which is much-needed to complete tasks.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2025
“When an officer violates someone’s civil rights, it corrodes trust in law enforcement and undermines the effectiveness of other officers who sacrifice to protect the public,” U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
The same salt that pollutes estuaries for wildlife also corrodes pipes for drinking water in Flint, Michigan, he points out.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2023
The salt in seawater also corrodes metal and destroys electrical connectors.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
He is right that forward guidance has corroded the central bank’s discipline rather than sharpened it.
From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026
By 2018, the utility knew the concrete pipe had corroded “to the point that exposed rebar could be seen and that if not corrected could result in a catastrophic failure,” the lawsuit states.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
The infrastructure is part of an offshore oil operation that had been closed since 2015, when a corroded section of one of the pipelines burst and caused one of the state’s worst oil spills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 23, 2026
However, the researchers did not look into what happened when the glass was deliberately smashed -- or corroded by chemicals.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
“Here, take this fork,” the man said, handing Ignatius a bent and corroded semblance of a spear.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
"I cannot describe it. I mean, it looks ugly, really ugly," the 69-year-old said, peering through its corroding gates.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
The confession results in confusion and anger erupting like molten lava from all sides, instantly corroding Emma’s bond with Charlie and her relationships with their friends.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2026
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 ● Feb. 13, 2026
Much of the corroding metal throughout the structure needs to be replaced, but “the masonry’s in good condition,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2025
The main obstacle for the diffusion process being developed by Urey was its reliance on uranium hexafluoride gas, the detestable “hex,” which lived up to its nickname by severely corroding every permeable barrier Urey tried.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
