Eaten away or damaged by chemical action, especially the rusting or wearing down of metal.
From Latin corrodere, meaning 'to gnaw away,' from com- (together) + rodere (to gnaw). The word entered English in the 1500s describing the gradual destruction of materials.
Corrosion happens at the atomic level—when water or oxygen attacks metal, electrons jump around and break chemical bonds, literally eating the metal from the inside out. It's why ships rust, why old cars crumble, and why salt water is so destructive near coasts.
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