surface

American  

[sur-fis] / ˈsɜr fɪs /

noun

surfaces plural

1. the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of a thing; outermost or uppermost layer or area.

2. any face of a body or thing.

   the six surfaces of a cube.

3. extent or area of outer face; superficial area.

4. the outward appearance, especially as distinguished from the inner nature.

   to look below the surface of a matter.

5. Geometry. any figure having only two dimensions; part or all of the boundary of a solid.

6. land or sea transportation, rather than air, underground, or undersea transportation.

7. Aeronautics. an airfoil.

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adjective

1. of, on, or pertaining to the surface; external.

2. apparent rather than real; superficial.

   to be guilty of surface judgments.

3. of, relating to, or via land or sea.

   surface mail.

4. Linguistics. belonging to a late stage in the transformational derivation of a sentence; belonging to the surface structure.

verb (used with object)

surfaces, present (3rd person singular) surfaced, past participle, past surfacing present participle

1. to finish the surface of; give a particular kind of surface to; make even or smooth.

2. 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)

surfaces, present (3rd person singular) surfaced, past participle, past surfacing present participle

1. to rise to the surface.

   The submarine surfaced after four days.

2. to work on or at the surface.

surface British  

/ ˈsɜːfɪs /

noun

1. 1. the exterior face of an object or one such face

   2. ( as modifier )

      surface gloss

2. 1. the area or size of such a face

   2. ( as modifier )

      surface measurements

3. material resembling such a face, with length and width but without depth

4. 1. the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature

   2. ( as modifier )

      a surface resemblance

5. geometry

   1. the complete boundary of a solid figure

   2. a continuous two-dimensional configuration

6. 1. the uppermost level of the land or sea

   2. ( as modifier )

      surface transportation

7. to emerge; become apparent

8. to all appearances

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verb

1. to rise or cause to rise to or as if to the surface (of water, etc)

2. (tr) to treat the surface of, as by polishing, smoothing, etc

3. (tr) to furnish with a surface

4. (intr) mining

   1. to work at or near the ground surface

   2. to wash surface ore deposits

5. (intr) to become apparent; emerge

6. informal (intr)

   1. to wake up

   2. to get up

surface Idioms  

1. see on the surface; scratch the surface.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsurface
  noun
• surfacer
  noun
• surfaceless
  adjective
• unsurfaced
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• surfaces
  plural

Participles

• surfacing
  present
• surfaced
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• surface
  simple
• surfaces
  simple
• have surfaced
  perfect
• has surfaced
  perfect
• am surfacing
  progressive
• are surfacing
  progressive
• is surfacing
  progressive
• have been surfacing
  perfect progressive
• has been surfacing
  perfect progressive

Past

• surfaced
  simple
• had surfaced
  perfect
• was surfacing
  progressive
• were surfacing
  progressive
• had been surfacing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will surface
  simple
• will have surfaced
  perfect
• will be surfacing
  progressive
• will have been surfacing
  perfect progressive

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

surface surfaces surfaced surfacing

“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

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

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

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

Related Words

• area
• expanse
• exterior
• facade
• face
• façade
• level
• side
• skin
• top