erode
/ɪˈrəʊd/verb
with obj.(常作 be eroded)
1- (of wind, water, or other natural agents) gradually wear away (soil, rock, or land)（风、水或其他自然力）腐蚀, 侵蚀（土壤, 岩石, 陆地）：
the cliffs on this coast have been eroded by the sea.
这个海岸上的峭壁受到了海水的侵蚀。
1.1
- no obj.(of soil, rock, or land) be gradually worn away by such natural agents（土壤, 岩石, 陆地）遭侵蚀。
1.2
- figurative gradually destroy or be gradually destroyed〈喻〉把…逐步毁掉; 被毁：
with obj. this humiliation has eroded what confidence Jean has这种耻辱使琼渐渐地失去了信心
no obj. profit margins are eroding.利润空间越来越小。
1.3
- Medicine (of a disease) gradually destroy (bodily tissue)【医】（疾病）侵蚀, 腐蚀（身体组织）。
派生词
erodible
adjective词源
early 17th cent.: from French éroder or Latin erodere, from e - （variant of ex -） 'out, away' + rodere 'gnaw'.