surface
Americannoun
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the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of a thing; outermost or uppermost layer or area.
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any face of a body or thing.
the six surfaces of a cube.
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extent or area of outer face; superficial area.
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the outward appearance, especially as distinguished from the inner nature.
to look below the surface of a matter.
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Geometry. any figure having only two dimensions; part or all of the boundary of a solid.
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land or sea transportation, rather than air, underground, or undersea transportation.
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Aeronautics. an airfoil.
adjective
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of, on, or pertaining to the surface; external.
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apparent rather than real; superficial.
to be guilty of surface judgments.
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of, relating to, or via land or sea.
surface mail.
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Linguistics. belonging to a late stage in the transformational derivation of a sentence; belonging to the surface structure.
verb (used with object)
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to finish the surface of; give a particular kind of surface to; make even or smooth.
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to bring to the surface; cause to appear openly.
Depth charges surfaced the sub. So far we've surfaced no applicants.
verb (used without object)
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to rise to the surface.
The submarine surfaced after four days.
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to work on or at the surface.
noun
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the exterior face of an object or one such face
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( as modifier )
surface gloss
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the area or size of such a face
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( as modifier )
surface measurements
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material resembling such a face, with length and width but without depth
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the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature
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( as modifier )
a surface resemblance
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geometry
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the complete boundary of a solid figure
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a continuous two-dimensional configuration
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the uppermost level of the land or sea
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( as modifier )
surface transportation
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to emerge; become apparent
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to all appearances
verb
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to rise or cause to rise to or as if to the surface (of water, etc)
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(tr) to treat the surface of, as by polishing, smoothing, etc
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(tr) to furnish with a surface
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(intr) mining
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to work at or near the ground surface
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to wash surface ore deposits
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(intr) to become apparent; emerge
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informal (intr)
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to wake up
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to get up
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surfacesimple
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surfacessimple
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have surfacedperfect
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has surfacedperfect
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am surfacingprogressive
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are surfacingprogressive
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is surfacingprogressive
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have been surfacingperfect progressive
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has been surfacingperfect progressive
Past
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surfacedsimple
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had surfacedperfect
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was surfacingprogressive
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were surfacingprogressive
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had been surfacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surface
First recorded in 1605–15; from French; equivalent to sur- 1 + face; apparently modeled on Latin superficies superficies
Explanation
The surface is the outside of anything. The earth, a basketball, and even your body have a surface. A surface is the top layer of something. The surface of the moon is rocky, with a lot of craters, while the surface of the earth has a lot of water. Sandpaper has a rough surface; a balloon has a smooth but rubbery surface. When we use the word surface, it usually means there is a lot of stuff underneath. That applies to our use of surface to mean outward mood, as in "You look happy on the surface, but I know you're angry on the inside."
Vocabulary lists containing surface
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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"Here, There, and Beyond"
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Earth Science - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“These are leaks that we haven’t seen surface yet. Unfortunately, we’re still going to have situations where we do have a leak and we need to respond quickly.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Wang and Zahl analysed the problem on the assumption that the pencil was floating in a three-dimensional space, rather than on a flat surface.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
One patent describes a wafer-holding plate that can detect and adjust surface temperatures to correct flaws caused by old machinery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Underneath the surface of a labor market with strong numbers, people looking for jobs say it’s a grueling process.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
But while I wait, the memories of my mom that I try to bury come bubbling to the surface.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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That’s why scientists in Arizona are strapping volunteers into harnesses and lowering them onto wet floors: to find what kinds of surfaces are safest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Courts can be set up on various surfaces, including driveways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Unlike trees, mountains, rivers, clouds, and animals, which are dominated by curved and branching forms, crystals stand out because of their flat surfaces and straight edges.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 15, 2026
The memories Sonny eventually surfaces are more potent than anything she makes up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Medieval painting, for instance, is to a large extent “applied,” in the sense that it embellishes surfaces which serve other, practical purposes as well—walls, book pages, windows, furniture.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
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The excerpts come from Cooper’s March 19, 2025, deposition, which surfaced last month in a court filing by attorneys representing Drakeo’s family in a civil lawsuit against festival organizers and security contractors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
Reports surfaced that Sony and Alamo Drafthouse, the theater chain owned by the company, have been in talks to take over operation of the venue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
Last year, he said, it surfaced a surge in teenagers talking about bullying, so he built a lesson around it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
His ball was found and videos surfaced of the 32-year-old American seemingly trampling down some knee-high rough behind his ball.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Unable to stay afloat, she sank below the waves and never surfaced again.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
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On social media, people have complained about being filmed without their knowledge, with accounts surfacing of users disabling the white light that signals the glasses are recording.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
While these reports were surfacing, tensions with Iran over a negotiated ceasefire deal were growing, and the US was launching strikes.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Chunks of Trump’s beloved “American flag blue” paint job are surfacing.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
If the same concern keeps surfacing in different forms, the conversation hasn’t actually happened yet.
From MarketWatch ● May 27, 2026
Part of the issue was that old acquaintances and distant relatives were surfacing from nowhere and with a flood of inquiries.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.