corrode
verb
Simple meaning
To eat away bit by bit.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kerohdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kɚˈoʊd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
transitive
To eat away bit by bit; to wear away or diminish by gradually separating or destroying small particles of, as by action of a strong acid or a caustic alkali.
transitive
To consume; to wear away; to prey upon; to impair.
intransitive
To have corrosive action; to be subject to corrosion.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To eat away bit by bit; to wear away or diminish by gradually separating or destroying small particles of, as by action of a strong acid or a caustic alkali.
Used this way, corrode is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use corrode
- “The acid corroded the metal.”verb
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.