surface
Americannoun
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surfaces
plural
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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.
-
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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surfaces,
present (3rd person singular)
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surfaced,
past participle, past
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surfacing
present participle
-
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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surfaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
surfaced,
past participle, past
-
surfacing
present participle
-
to rise to the surface.
The submarine surfaced after four days.
-
to work on or at the surface.
noun
-
-
the exterior face of an object or one such face
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( as modifier )
surface gloss
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-
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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
-
-
the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature
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( as modifier )
a surface resemblance
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-
geometry
-
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
-
( 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
-
is surfacingprogressive
-
have been surfacingperfect progressive
-
has been surfacingperfect progressive
Past
-
surfacedsimple
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had surfacedperfect
-
was surfacingprogressive
-
were surfacingprogressive
-
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:
"By combining the model with what we see on the surface, we can make inferences about Ariel's past eccentricity and how thick the ocean might have been."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
In the 2026 image, Lake Powell's water surface stood at 3,517.24 feet.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
“We haven’t even scratched the surface; infrastructure is a long, long tail. It takes a long time for regulatory approval for building and then obviously deploying.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The records that have now been broken relate to daily measurements of sea surface temperature compared with the long term historical average.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
He brushed his palm over the surface of the book.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Alphabet is uniquely positioned across the entire AI tech stack, spanning from its custom chips to distribution surfaces like YouTube and Android.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
The German had won all five of their previous matchups, on three different surfaces, while conceding just one set.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
To investigate the process, the researchers scanned DNA samples with atomic force microscopy, a technique capable of mapping surfaces at extremely small scales.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026
Numerous prototype limbs litter the surfaces in Kimathi's lab.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The only green was the scum of livid weed on the dark greasy surfaces of the sullen waters.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Yet diesel’s rise hasn’t fully surfaced in grocery-store aisles — so far at least.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The passage tapped into the El Paso sewer system, where, according to U.S. authorities, migrants surfaced from a manhole.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The recent wave of rumours appears to have started last year in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where similar claims had surfaced in 2008.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The Briton, famed for his flamboyant personality and daring designs, was also fired from his job as creative director of Dior after the incident surfaced.
From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026
A third ship surfaced from beneath, like a submarine from a horror show.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
Children can, at times, sense their parents’ trauma surfacing in seemingly unrelated interactions, when Mom loses her temper or Dad goes silent.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
Following the video surfacing, Galliano apologized, went to rehab, and, over the last few years, experienced a brand resurgence that some would call a whitewashing.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
This comes as old and new challenges are surfacing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 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
“But how do you know,” said Harry, “that those wands—the Deathstick and the Wand of Destiny—aren’t the same wand, surfacing over the centuries under different names?”
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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.
