- present participle of surround.
surrounding
Americannoun
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something that surrounds.
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surroundings, environing things, circumstances, conditions, etc.; environment.
He was too sick to be aware of his surroundings.
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the act of encircling or enclosing.
adjective
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enclosing or encircling.
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being the environment or adjacent area.
Synonym Usage
See environment.
Etymology
Origin of surrounding
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English: literally “inundation”; see origin at surround, -ing 1, -ing 2
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.
Surrounding it is a larger region of older, fading plasma left behind by earlier eruptions.
From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026
Surrounding the area are shanties painted in bright hues - red, blue, green and yellow - which sit one on top of the other like puzzle blocks in a lopsided Tetris game.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
Surrounding areas of Bissau were more deserted, and there were few people in reopened markets, AFP journalists said.
From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025
Surrounding Yeoh with a cast of familiar actors may ease skeptics into that mission.
From Salon • Jan. 24, 2025
Surrounding us was a thick, wet, living stand of trees and tall grasses stretching all the way across Congo.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
