When soil or land erodes, it wears away or is removed. Many beaches seem to get smaller and smaller, as the endless wash of the waves begins to erode the fine sand.

Pronunciation: / ɪ'rod/
English description: remove soil or rock
Synonyms: fret
Chinese Translation: 侵蚀(qin1 shi2)
Spanish Translation: erosionar
ORIGIN: While erode is most commonly used when describing land loss, you can also use it in less literal ways. Numerous hospital bills can cause your savings to erode. Each time you catch your friend in a lie, your trust in her erodes a little more. Consumer confidence is eroding away as the media reports more and more bad economic news. What’s key here is both the sense of loss, as well as the idea that it is a gradual process.

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

Social media and video games can destroy family life and erode the pull of empathy.
It eroded the rocky crest the way a river cuts through a mountain range.

*New word description, story and part of "EXAMPLE SENTENCE" are cited in Vocabulary