eating away
7
4.9
- noun
:
erosión
- "The sea level is rising and causing the channel to erode wider," he added, "because it's eating away at these banks and these trees are falling over."
- eating away rust
- slowly eating away
Examples
-
There is no real place to stand because anywhere you stand, you will start to find that this place too has been eaten away by the termites.
Blog text (31) -
Had erosion been eating away at it from beneath, without our knowledge?
Fiction book (1992) -
A drop of liquid falls to the temple floor and begins to smoke, eating away at it like acid.
Fiction book (1997) -
On the other hand, our liberty is being eaten away in a very tangible, real-world, day-to-day manner.
Blog text (16) -
Even before the execution of Carrillo Puerto, corruption, caciquismo, and machine politics had begun to eat away at the popular base of Yucatecan Socialism.
Academic text (2002) -
And watches the jet begin eating away at the old adobe and brick, just as it ate through the crumbling plaster in the Spanish Harlem tenement.
Fiction book (2002) -
Robert Bellah's landmark book, Habits of the Heart, helped many people name the thing that was (and still is) eating away at the cohesiveness of our culture—"expressive individualism."
Blog text (6) -
Rising sea levels are gradually eating away at the coastline, threatening homes and wildlife.
-
The constant rainfall is eating away at the soil, causing erosion on the steep hillside.
-
Harsh working conditions can slowly eat away at a person's mental health over time.
Synonyms
34
3.7
The gradual wearing away of land, rock, and other materials by forces such as water or wind
18
7.9
Slow loss of people or strength caused by continued pressure
Slow loss of material as water or wind rubs it
Slow loss of a surface by water, wind, or rubbing
Antonyms
How Damaging
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'eating away' is directly built from 'eat' (to consume or erode) plus 'away' (indicating continued removal), so the sense of gradual wearing down follows straightforwardly from the constituents. This metaphoric extension from physical consumption to erosion is common and follows regular verb+particle composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words should be able to infer the meaning.
Etymology
Eating away gives the image of something being slowly eaten bit by bit, like waves or rust that eat away at stone or metal. That's why it means 'slow wearing down' or 'gradual damage'.