resurface
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(intr) to arise or occur again
the problem resurfaced
-
(intr) to rise or cause to rise again to the surface
-
(tr) to supply (something) with a new surface
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
resurfacesimple
-
resurfacessimple
-
have resurfacedperfect
-
has resurfacedperfect
-
am resurfacingprogressive
-
are resurfacingprogressive
-
is resurfacingprogressive
-
have been resurfacingperfect progressive
-
has been resurfacingperfect progressive
Past
-
resurfacedsimple
-
had resurfacedperfect
-
was resurfacingprogressive
-
were resurfacingprogressive
-
had been resurfacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of resurface
Explanation
To resurface is to cover something with a fresh coat, like to resurface a road with new asphalt. It also means to come back, like a problem you wanted to forget or a monster in a movie that won’t die. You can resurface a birthday cake with another layer of frosting if you discover your brother has stuck his finger in the original buttercream. Another way to resurface is to emerge or appear again, sometimes above an actual surface, like when a dolphin dives under water and then resurfaces several minutes later. The dream you forgot when you woke up might also (figuratively) resurface later in the day.
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.
See Examples For:
The idea never gained traction, Canadian officials said, and Carney didn’t try to resurface it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The five entered the water at Vaavu Atoll on Thursday morning, local media said, and were reported missing when they failed to resurface later on.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
The home goods retailer will resurface through the rebranding of 98 The Container Store locations, including 12 storefronts in California, the company announcedon Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026
Debunked claims routinely resurface across platforms awash with fakes, a pattern some researchers call "zombie" misinformation.
From Barron's ● Apr. 2, 2026
The stutter was largely cured by a speech therapist during his early teens, although it would resurface occasionally in adulthood, typically at moments of intellectual excitement.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
I recently tried the “inverted filter” trend on TikTok that has been around for years and periodically resurfaces to highlight our inherent insecurities with how the world sees us.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026
This preoccupation resurfaces at Regen in a large-scale print of 2023’s “Flight Honolulu to Guam,” revealing a star field above the clouds.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026
Other family members expressed a desire for closure, with the DoJ quoting one family member who said "the grief resurfaces every time this case is discussed in court or other forums."
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025
The deep water that resurfaces in the Southern Ocean has been isolated for centuries or even millennia, accumulating large amounts of CO2.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2025
“I can’t believe you guys,” Simon says when he resurfaces.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Instead, the pretrial this month resurfaced the schisms.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Those budding relationships with the Stormont parties were quickly tested as old arguments about funding for the executive resurfaced.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The photos resurfaced two years ago, when Yamal’s father posted it online with the caption “The beginning of two legends.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The history of the Jews of Jedwabne resurfaced in 2001, when Polish-American historian Jan T. Gross highlighted the role of Polish villagers in his book "Neighbors".
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
The official resurfaced from his dive exclaiming, “There is glass everywhere.”
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
“While compacting the concrete aggregate base in advance of final street resurfacing, water began to pool at the surface toward the eastern edge of the work area,” the utility said in a news release.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
However, with the dollar recovering to around 160 yen, expectations for a BOJ rate increase in June are resurfacing, two members of Barclays’ Japan Rates Strategy say in a research report.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
A contractor is resurfacing the reflecting pool that stretches between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument – albeit with some concern over funding and the methods used.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Workers on Saturday were resurfacing the bottom of Washington's famous Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with "American flag blue"-colored material used in swimming pools, following an order by US President Donald Trump.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
The island had come under repeated assault, prompting a resurfacing of Olmsted’s old anger about the compulsion of clients to tinker with his landscapes.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
