surrounded

[suh-roun-did]

adjective

1. (of troops, a fort or town, etc.) encircled or hemmed in by enemies on all sides so as to cut off communication or retreat.

   Only a few of the surrounded infantrymen survived, escaping in the darkness of the early morning.

2. enclosed or shut in on all sides, as by a barrier or border, desert or mountains, etc. (usually used in combination).

   The huge master bedroom features a granite-surrounded whirlpool tub.

   The surrounded parcel of land is provided with road access by a right-of-way through one of the encircling properties.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of surround.

Other Word Forms

• unsurrounded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of surrounded¹

First recorded in 1590–1600, for an earlier sense; surround ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; surround ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, it was still “deployed in the area,” it said, and the military’s Arabic-language spokesman said in a statement that Gaza City was still surrounded by the army and that returning to it was dangerous.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It was just three days earlier when Judge found himself surrounded by cameras and microphones on Saturday, having to explain how he yet again had shrunk when the Yankees needed him most.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Portland police say that a vehicle attempted to drive into the crowd that night at one point and was surrounded by demonstrators.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

But the charm is that they are surrounded by towering, elevator-less 1980s apartment buildings, where people hang clothes to dry in metal window cages.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

But the road nicknamed "Lovers' Street" – and the six-storey building that overlooks it – is now surrounded by rubble.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• ringed