Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

sur

1 American  
[sur] / sɜr /

preposition

Law.

  1. upon; on the basis of.

    sur mortgage.
Sur 2 American  
[soor] / sʊər /

noun

  1. a town in S Lebanon, on the Mediterranean Sea: site of ancient port of Tyre.

sur- 3 American  

  1. a prefix meaning “over, above,” “in addition,” occurring mainly in loanwords from French and partial calques of French words.

    surcharge; surname; surrender; survive.
sur- 4 American  

  1. variant of sub- before r: surrogate.

Sur 1 British  
/ sʊə /

noun

  1. transliteration of the Arabic name for Tyre

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sur- 2 British  

prefix

  1. over; above; beyond Compare super-

    surcharge

    surrealism
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sur- 3 British  

prefix

  1. a variant of sub-

    surrogate
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sur1

< French < Latin super super-

Origin of sur-3

Middle English < Old French < Latin super- super-

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.

The course is called Diplôme sur le Renseignement et les Menaces Globales, which translates as Diploma of Intelligence and Global Threats.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

Magda, the manager, helps me with a goat cheese, Mothais sur Feuille, wrapped in a fig leaf.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025

“La vérité sur cette affaire est cruelle,” he said—“the truth is cruel.”

From Slate • Jul. 22, 2025

El 36 por ciento de las 11.000 especies de aves del mundo viven en la zona al sur de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México, más que en Asia o África.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2024

The standard French translation of ‘evidence-based medicine’ is médecine fondée sur les faits.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

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.