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erodible - 2 dictionary results

e⋅rode

  [i-rohd] verb, e⋅rod⋅ed, e⋅rod⋅ing.
Use erodible in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to eat into or away; destroy by slow consumption or disintegration: Battery acid had eroded the engine. Inflation erodes the value of our money.
2. to form (a gully, butte, or the like) by erosion.
–verb (used without object)
3. to become eroded.
Origin:
1605–15; < L ērōdere, equiv. to ē- e- + rōdere to gnaw

Related forms:
e⋅rod⋅i⋅ble, e⋅rod⋅a⋅ble, e⋅ro⋅si⋅ble  [i-roh-zuh-buhl, -suh-] , adjective
e⋅rod⋅i⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, e⋅rod⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

Synonyms:
1. corrode, waste, ravage, spoil.

Antonyms:
1. strengthen, reinforce.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To erodible
e·rode   (ĭ-rōd')   
v.   e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing, e·rodes

v.   tr.
  1. To wear (something) away by or as if by abrasion: Waves eroded the shore.
  2. To eat into; corrode.
  3. To make or form by wearing away: The river eroded a deep valley.
  4. To cause to diminish or deteriorate as if by eating into or wearing away: "Long enduring peace often erodes popular resolution" (C.L. Sulzberger).
v.   intr.
To become worn or eaten away: The cliffs have eroded over the centuries. Public confidence in the administration eroded.

[Latin ērōdere, to gnaw off, eat away : ē-, ex-, ex- + rōdere, to gnaw; see rēd- in Indo-European roots.]
e·rod'i·bil'i·ty n., e·rod'i·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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