To undergo or cause spontaneous oxidation through reaction with oxygen in the air, without external heat or ignition.
From auto- (self) + oxidize. Chemistry verb coined in the 19th-20th century to describe the process of self-oxidation.
When iron autoxidizes, we call it rust; when wine autoxidizes, we might call it vinegar—the same chemical process transforms materials in ways that can be either ruinous or transformative depending on what you wanted.
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