surface
Americannoun
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surfaces
plural
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the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of a thing; outermost or uppermost layer or area.
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any face of a body or thing.
the six surfaces of a cube.
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extent or area of outer face; superficial area.
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the outward appearance, especially as distinguished from the inner nature.
to look below the surface of a matter.
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Geometry. any figure having only two dimensions; part or all of the boundary of a solid.
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land or sea transportation, rather than air, underground, or undersea transportation.
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Aeronautics. an airfoil.
adjective
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of, on, or pertaining to the surface; external.
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apparent rather than real; superficial.
to be guilty of surface judgments.
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of, relating to, or via land or sea.
surface mail.
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Linguistics. belonging to a late stage in the transformational derivation of a sentence; belonging to the surface structure.
verb (used with object)
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surfaces,
present (3rd person singular)
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surfaced,
past participle, past
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surfacing
present participle
-
to finish the surface of; give a particular kind of surface to; make even or smooth.
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to bring to the surface; cause to appear openly.
Depth charges surfaced the sub. So far we've surfaced no applicants.
verb (used without object)
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surfaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
surfaced,
past participle, past
-
surfacing
present participle
-
to rise to the surface.
The submarine surfaced after four days.
-
to work on or at the surface.
noun
-
-
the exterior face of an object or one such face
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( as modifier )
surface gloss
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-
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the area or size of such a face
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( as modifier )
surface measurements
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material resembling such a face, with length and width but without depth
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the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature
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( as modifier )
a surface resemblance
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-
geometry
-
the complete boundary of a solid figure
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a continuous two-dimensional configuration
-
-
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the uppermost level of the land or sea
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( as modifier )
surface transportation
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to emerge; become apparent
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to all appearances
verb
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to rise or cause to rise to or as if to the surface (of water, etc)
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(tr) to treat the surface of, as by polishing, smoothing, etc
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(tr) to furnish with a surface
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(intr) mining
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to work at or near the ground surface
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to wash surface ore deposits
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(intr) to become apparent; emerge
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informal (intr)
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to wake up
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to get up
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surfacesimple
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surfacessimple
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have surfacedperfect
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has surfacedperfect
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am surfacingprogressive
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are surfacingprogressive
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is surfacingprogressive
-
have been surfacingperfect progressive
-
has been surfacingperfect progressive
Past
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surfacedsimple
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had surfacedperfect
-
was surfacingprogressive
-
were surfacingprogressive
-
had been surfacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surface
First recorded in 1605–15; from French; equivalent to sur- 1 + face; apparently modeled on Latin superficies superficies
Explanation
The surface is the outside of anything. The earth, a basketball, and even your body have a surface. A surface is the top layer of something. The surface of the moon is rocky, with a lot of craters, while the surface of the earth has a lot of water. Sandpaper has a rough surface; a balloon has a smooth but rubbery surface. When we use the word surface, it usually means there is a lot of stuff underneath. That applies to our use of surface to mean outward mood, as in "You look happy on the surface, but I know you're angry on the inside."
Vocabulary lists containing surface
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
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"Here, There, and Beyond"
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Earth Science - Middle School
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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 surface at the home of cricket could be much different this time around, or a sporty pitch could act as a leveller between the two teams.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
The spacecraft conducted a banking maneuver—tilting to one side—to slow down as it neared the surface.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Aerial footage from an NBC LA helicopter showed the driver running red lights and stop signs on surface streets before getting on and off Interstate 405 and pulling into an Arco gas station.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
CEO Tom Hale says the company is only scratching the surface when it comes to the type of individualized health guidance AI can provide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
She tapped her purple gel pen on the surface and waited for him to speak.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
He trades the plush G-funk popular in L.A. for a style more common in New York—all hard surfaces and rigid drums, with a barely-there melody that pings like sonar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
On the second floor, a generous dining space and an open kitchen with marble surfaces, warm-wood cabinetry, and one of the building’s original steel trusses await.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The eatery features Midcentury Modern touches with curved cherry wood walls and paneled ceilings, as well as illuminated white onyx Corian surfaces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Their surfaces do not contain dangling bonds, which makes it difficult to grow an extremely thin dielectric film evenly across them.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
I swept until all the hair was in the trash and I scrubbed the green dye off surfaces as much as possible.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
They said they were unaware of the company's difficulties until an investigative news story by the online magazine, The Cut, surfaced in September 2025.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
The dynamic also surfaced on Monday, as major equity indexes sank while yields pushed higher.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
The same statement had been used by the White House last month when questions about the aircraft's safety first surfaced.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
News of the pregnancy — and the couple’s relationship — surfaced a year after the death of Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena, an independent filmmaker who directed her in the 2017 comedy “The Little Hours.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
He surfaced near where we stood on the edge of the culvert.
From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya
This comes as old and new challenges are surfacing.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 12, 2026
Chunks of Trump’s beloved “American flag blue” paint job are surfacing.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
By making the president an omnipresent figure, White House advisers are surfacing both vigor and flubs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Reed hopes to soon install an infrared camera on the bay's Angel Island to monitor whales surfacing at night and in high traffic areas.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
Harry turned away from Ron, who did not look like he would be surfacing soon, just as the portrait hole was closing.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
