eroded; eroding
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
: to undergo erosion
where the land has eroded away
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
May 6, 2024 Mariam Jallow, a junior at Columbia College and the incoming president of the Columbia College Student Council, told TIME that the decision has eroded the student body's trust in university administration.
—
Simmone Shah, TIME, 6 May 2024
Pregnancy tends to erode both your freedom and your privacy.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for erode 
Simmone Shah, TIME, 6 May 2024
Pregnancy tends to erode both your freedom and your privacy.
—Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 4 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for erode
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'erode.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Erode.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/erode. Accessed 9 May. 2024.
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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
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