corrode

/kəˈɹəʊd/

//kəˈɹəʊd// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"corrode" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“corrode” is uncommon English (frequency #59,300 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#59,300
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To eat away bit by bit; to wear away or diminish by gradually separating or destroying small particles of, as by action of a strong acid or a caustic alkali.

Corpus desk

Index EN-corrode · corrode · English

corrode · rank #59,300 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #59,300
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cowed

Nearest frequency peer: cowed (+2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “corrode”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “corrode” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for corrode
PropertyValue
Headwordcorrode
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/kəˈɹəʊd/
Letters7
Frequency rank#59,300
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “corrode” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).corrodefalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “cowed” (#59,302), “coots” (#59,297), “crannies” (#59,304). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “corrode” is #59,300. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

corrode is uncommon English at frequency #59,300 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /kəˈɹəʊd/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

corrode doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English corrōden, that borrowed from Old French corroder or directly from Latin corrōdere (“to gnaw”), from con- (“completely”) + rōdere (“to gnaw”). The correct English form is corrode, spelled C-O-R-R-O-D-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To eat away bit by bit; to wear away or diminish by gradually separating or destroying small particles of, as by action of a strong acid or a caustic alkali.
  2. 2
    To consume; to wear away; to prey upon; to impair.
  3. 3
    To have corrosive action; to be subject to corrosion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how corrode appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. My morale is being corroded day by day.

Etymology

From Middle English corrōden, that borrowed from Old French corroder or directly from Latin corrōdere (“to gnaw”), from con- (“completely”) + rōdere (“to gnaw”).

Synonyms

cankergnawrustwastewear

This word in other languages

corroer(Español)éroder(Français)zerfressen(Deutsch)corroer(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "corrode"?
"corrode" is spelled C-O-R-R-O-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /kəˈɹəʊd/.
What does "corrode" mean?
As a verb, "corrode" means: To eat away bit by bit; to wear away or diminish by gradually separating or destroying small particles of, as by action of a strong acid or a caustic alkali.
How do you pronounce "corrode"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "corrode" is /kəˈɹəʊd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "corrode"?
From Middle English corrōden, that borrowed from Old French corroder or directly from Latin corrōdere (“to gnaw”), from con- (“completely”) + rōdere (“to gnaw”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "corrode", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

crapped#59,305daunted#59,320debater#59,323defamed#59,329

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list