eat away[verb]Synonyms: eat, bite, corrode, erode, gnaw, scour, wear (away)
[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
eat away v. 1. To rot, rust, or destroy.
Rust was eating away the pipe. Cancer ate away the healthy flesh. See: EAT OUT
2.
2. To gradually consume.
The ocean waves were gradually eating the volcanic rocks until they turned into black sand. [TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲