Corrode

corrode
    v 1: cause to deteriorate due to the action of water, air, or an
         acid; "The acid corroded the metal"; "The steady dripping
         of water rusted the metal stopper in the sink" [syn:
         {corrode}, {eat}, {rust}]
    2: become destroyed by water, air, or a corrosive such as an
       acid; "The metal corroded"; "The pipes rusted" [syn:
       {corrode}, {rust}]
    

Corrode \Cor*rode"\ (k?r-r?d") v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Corroded};
   p. pr. & vb. n. {Corroding}.] [L. corrodere, -rosum; cor +
   rodere to gnaw: cf. F. corroder. See {Rodent}.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. To eat away by degrees; to wear away or diminish by
      gradually separating or destroying small particles of, as
      by action of a strong acid or a caustic alkali.
      [1913 Webster]

            Aqua fortis corroding copper . . . is wont to reduce
            it to a green-blue solution.          --Boyle.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To consume; to wear away; to prey upon; to impair.
      [1913 Webster]
    

Corrode \Cor*rode"\, v. i.
   To have corrosive action; to be subject to corrosion.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Corroding lead}, lead sufficiently pure to be used in making
      white lead by a process of corroding.

   Syn: To canker; gnaw; rust; waste; wear away.
        [1913 Webster]
    

65 Moby Thesaurus words for "corrode":
      abate, ablate, atomize, bate, be eaten away, bite, break up,
      canker, come apart, consume, consume away, crack up, crumble,
      crumble into dust, decay, decline, decompose, decrease, deliquesce,
      die away, diminish, disintegrate, disjoin, disorganize, dissolve,
      dive, drop, drop off, dwindle, eat, eat away, eat into, eat out,
      ebb, erode, etch, fall, fall away, fall off, fall to pieces,
      fission, gnaw, languish, lessen, let up, melt away, molder,
      nibble away, oxidize, plummet, plunge, run low, rust, sag, scour,
      shrink, sink, split, subside, tail off, wane, waste, waste away,
      wear, wear away