surround
verb (used with object)
to enclose on all sides; encompass.
had been surrounding
-
past perfect progressiveof surround.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
She explained that the ogres had been surrounding the house for three days, waiting for Frank to show up.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
At length we got into a counter eddy, and now without difficulty they made way; the people who had been surrounding the hippopotamus running down along the bank to look at us.
From In the Wilds of Africa by Alfred Pearse
They had been surrounding the corral so that no one could have ridden out; they looked among the horses, but Asabache was nowhere to be found.
From A Summer in a Canyon by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin
The Russians had been surrounding this horseshoe, leaving the base open, and the form of their attack on this occasion was in the line of their environment straight to their front.
From Roumania Past and Present by James Samuelson
There was a general distrust of the influences which had been surrounding the Czar.
From History of the World War An Authentic Narrative of the World's Greatest War by Francis Andrew March
