surroundings
Britishplural noun
Explanation
Your surroundings are the things all around you. When you park your car in a huge lot, paying attention to your surroundings can help you find the car again later. You can use the noun surroundings to mean the nearby environment — all of the objects close by, as well as the location itself — and also the circumstances or conditions where you are. When someone builds a house, the surroundings will help determine which direction it will face and how many windows it will have. Surroundings stems from surround, "be all around," but originally "flood or overflow."
Vocabulary lists containing surroundings
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.
At Rise Bagels in Irvine, Calif., owner John Park draws from both his Korean heritage and his Orange County surroundings.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
Travel often combines unfamiliar surroundings with relaxing experiences.
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
“To get a chance to walk in here and just feel this and see all of these surroundings and the things that took place in this venue is pretty special,” Chesney said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 2, 2026
"We're going to try our hardest to deflagrate that item and burn it inside of a structure that will limit the damage to the local surroundings," he said.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
Light from a streetlamp beams into my cavelike bedroom and reveals the source of the noise—Aunt Tess, sitting on the edge of my bed, appraising her surroundings.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
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.
