To slowly wear away or be worn away by natural forces like water, wind, or ice. It can also mean to gradually weaken or damage something less physical, like trust or confidence.
From Latin *erodere* 'to gnaw away, corrode', from *e-* 'out' and *rodere* 'to gnaw'. The original idea is of something being slowly chewed away.
Erode is about slow, quiet change—cliffs disappear grain by grain, and trust disappears doubt by doubt. The same word works for rocks and relationships because both can be worn down by tiny repeated forces. That makes erosion a powerful metaphor for long-term damage we barely notice until it’s huge.
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