erode

E1R1O1D2E1
UK/ɪˈɹəʊd/Canada, US/ɪˈɹoʊd/Australia/ɪˈɹəʉd/

verb

To wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction.

“to erode a person’s trust”

Similar
corrodeeat awaygnawunderminedenudegnaw ateat atwear away
OriginFrench éroder ← Latin ērōdō →
Less commonScrabble 6
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Meanings

erode1

verberode (third-person singular simple present erodes, present participle eroding, simple past and past participle eroded)

present singular third person erodes · participle present eroding · participle past eroded · past eroded

  1. To wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction.

    The cliff is gradually being eroded by the waves.

    Synonyms: corrode, eat away, gnaw, undermine, denude

  2. figurativelyTo destroy gradually by an ongoing process.

    to erode a person’s trust

    2 more examples

    to erode society’s morals

    We've been worried about adolescents' diminishing writing and speaking skills for years. Lately, we have noticed that these skills are eroding at an accelerating rate, month-over-month.

    2025 December 9, Rachel Konrad and Matt Abrahams, “Why Young People Are Struggling to Communicate”, in TIME

    Synonyms: corrode, eat away

Erode2

proper noun
  1. A district of Tamil Nadu, India.
  2. The capital city of Erode district, Tamil Nadu, India.

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction.

Similar
corrodeeat awaygnawunderminedenude

verbTo destroy gradually by an ongoing process.

Similar
corrodeeat away

More synonyms by meaning

verbbecome ground down or deteriorate

Similar
gnawgnaw ateat atwear away
Broader
decaycrumbledilapidate

verbremove soil or rock

Similar
eat awayfret
Broader
damage
Also see
eat awayfretgnawwear away

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

erode · verb

  1. Latinērōdō
  2. Frenchéroder
  3. Englisherode

From French éroder, from Latin ērōdō.

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Erode · proper noun

  1. Tamilஈரோடு
  2. Tamilஈரோடு
  3. EnglishErode

Borrowed from Tamil ஈரோடு (īrōṭu).

More words from Tamil

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian еродирам, разяждам
  • еродирам (erodiram)to wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • разяждам (razjaždam)to wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Chinese Mandarin 侵蝕 /侵蚀, 腐蝕 /腐蚀
  • 侵蝕 /侵蚀 (qīnshí)to wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • 腐蝕 /腐蚀 (fǔshí)to wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Danish erodere
  • erodereto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Dutch afslijten, uitslijten
  • afslijtento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • uitslijtento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • verwerento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • eroderento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • corroderento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • aantastento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • aanvretento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • uitbijtento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • inbijtento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Finnish kuluttaa, syövyttää
  • kuluttaato wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • syövyttääto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • jäytääto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
French éroder
  • éroderto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
German erodieren
  • erodierento wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Italian erodere, corrodere
  • erodereto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • corrodereto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • rodereto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Māori ngāhorohoro, weku
  • ngāhorohoroto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • wekuto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Norwegian Bokmål erodere
  • erodereto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Portuguese erodir
  • erodirto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Russian эроди́ровать
  • эроди́ровать (erodírovatʹ)to wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Spanish erosionar
  • erosionarto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Swedish erodera, urholka
  • eroderato wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • urholka(figurative) To destroy gradually
Ukrainian еродува́ти
  • еродува́ти (eroduváty)to wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Vietnamese xói mòn, xâm thực
  • xói mònto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • xâm thựcto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
  • ăn mònto wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction
Yiddish אַוועקשווענקען
  • אַוועקשווענקען (avekshvenken)to wear away by abrasion, corrosion, or chemical reaction

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with erode

coderoadmodenodeepisodereloadodunicoderodeowedencodeodedecodeabodebowedunloadboderecodelodetoedstrodegoadcommodeoffload
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

erode. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erode

MLA

“erode.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erode. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “erode,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/erode.

Source: erode on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.