eroded; eroding

transitive verb

1
: to diminish or destroy by degrees:
a
: to eat into or away by slow destruction of substance (as by acid, infection, or cancer)
b
: to wear away by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice
flooding eroded the hillside
c
: to cause to deteriorate or disappear as if by eating or wearing away
inflation eroding buying power
2
: to produce or form by eroding
glaciers erode U-shaped valleys

intransitive verb

: to undergo erosion
where the land has eroded away
erodibility noun
erodible adjective
or less commonly erodable

Examples of erode in a Sentence

Crashing waves have eroded the cliffs along the beach. The shoreline has eroded badly.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
On the macro level, those price increases would also erode consumer spending. Annie Nova,rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024 Together, all these reflect attempts to erode the public’s trust in elections. ProPublica, 5 Nov. 2024 Nate Silver’s latest forecast finds Trump’s slight advantage eroding in the past few days, effectively bringing the odds for each candidate to 50-50. Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 4 Nov. 2024 And that returns us to the bottom-line choice in this election: One candidate will preserve the Constitution and the rule of law; the other will erode them. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for erode 

Word History

Etymology

Latin erodere to eat away, from e- + rodere to gnaw — more at rodent

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of erode was in 1612

Dictionary Entries Near erode

Cite this Entry

“Erode.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/erode. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

erode

verb
eroded; eroding
1
a
: to destroy gradually by chemical means : corrode
b
: to wear away by or as if by the action of water, wind, or glacial ice
2
: to undergo erosion
Etymology

from Latin erodere "to eat away," from e- "away" and rodere "to gnaw" — related to rodent

Medical Definition

erode

transitive verb
eroded; eroding
1
: to eat into or away by slow destruction of substance (as by acid, infection, or cancer)
acids that erode the teeth
bone eroded by cancer
2
: to remove with an abrasive
a dental tool that erodes the decayed area

More from Merriam-Webster on erode

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!