on the surface
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As the moon travels around Uranus, gravitational forces repeatedly stretch and squeeze it, potentially placing enough stress on the surface to cause large fractures.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026
The hills, glittering with celebrity, seemed to symbolize a culture and people that existed largely on the surface.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Each targets the same protein, called CD19, found on the surface of certain immune cells, in hopes of destroying the faulty cells driving the disease and giving the immune system a fresh start.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Debris remains scattered across the water, including a black wheelie suitcase bobbing on the surface and a sheet of steel that appeared to have broken away from the ferry.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
We bailed out the skiff until it was bobbing merrily on the surface.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
