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.
The bosses on the show all have different styles and expectations that may seem demanding or annoying on the surface.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
Ranked 114 places higher than Urhobo, Boulter was the favourite on paper - but limited exposure to clay has sometimes meant she has struggled against lower-ranked opposition on the surface.
From BBC • May 25, 2026
The other is more direct: receptors for GLP-1, the hormone these drugs mimic, appear on the surface of some tumor cells, raising the possibility that the drugs are acting on cancer biology itself.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
Because expensive memory chips are also part of the latter package, he noted that the $20 billion estimate might not be all it seems on the surface.
From MarketWatch • May 21, 2026
As the water on the surface cools, it begins to condense, and individual ice crystals act as seeds, causing the water to congeal around them, squeezing the salt out into the water below.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
