surf
Americannoun
-
the swell of the sea that breaks upon a shore or upon shoals.
-
the mass or line of foamy water caused by the breaking of the sea upon a shore, especially a shallow or sloping shore.
verb (used without object)
-
surfs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
surfed,
past participle, past
-
surfing
present participle
-
to ride a surfboard.
-
to float on the crest of a wave toward shore.
-
to swim, play, or bathe in the surf.
-
to search haphazardly, as for information on a computer network or an interesting program on television.
verb (used with object)
-
surfs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
surfed,
past participle, past
-
surfing
present participle
-
to ride a surfboard on.
We surfed every big wave in sight.
-
to search through (a computer network or TV channels) for information or entertainment.
noun
-
waves breaking on the shore or on a reef
-
foam caused by the breaking of waves
verb
-
(intr) to take part in surfing
-
-
computing (on the internet) to move freely from website to website (esp in the phrase surf the net )
-
to move freely between (TV channels or radio stations)
-
-
-
informal to be carried on top of something
that guy's surfing the audience
-
( in combination )
trainsurfing
-
Synonym Usage
See wave.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
surfsimple
-
surfssimple
-
have surfedperfect
-
has surfedperfect
-
am surfingprogressive
-
are surfingprogressive
-
is surfingprogressive
-
have been surfingperfect progressive
-
has been surfingperfect progressive
Past
-
surfedsimple
-
had surfedperfect
-
was surfingprogressive
-
were surfingprogressive
-
had been surfingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surf
First recorded in 1600–10; earlier suff; of uncertain origin
Explanation
The surf is what you see when you stand on the beach and look at the ocean — waves rising and breaking on the shore. It’s also what you do when you ride those waves. Surf’s up, dude! Surf means "crashing waves," but it's also a verb meaning to ride those waves with a surf board. When you surf, you stand upright on a board and ride over breaking waves into the shore. A more figurative meaning of surf is "search casually," as in "channel surf," or click idly between TV stations. The origin of the word is a mystery, though it's thought to have first been used in reference to the Indian coast.
Vocabulary lists containing surf
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:
In a yurt on a hill overlooking the surf on the North Shore, young scientists create parts on 3-D printers for wastewater-treatment machines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
He said on X: "Damaging winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and dangerous surf are possible across the state through the weekend."
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Tropical Storm Lala on Saturday dumped heavy rain on Hawaii's Big Island, with hurricane-force winds and heavy surf expected.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
He can surf, but he’s gotten so big that he’s switched to a long board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Nansi walks into the surf and lets his ankles be buffeted by the waves.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
John van Rooyen regularly surfs and spear fishes at the Tinley Manor beach, about 2 miles from where he lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
Efrus, a 4-year-old Jack Russell terrier, surfs the waves in the Pacific waters off Peru.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
He grew up surfing at Makaha and now surfs all over the world, and has trained at the Slater wave pool and a Texas one.
From Washington Times ● May 29, 2023
Gustin surfs mostly on weekends because his job keeps him busy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2022
Wanting to ask where he’s from and what his name is and if he surfs and how old he is and what school he’s going to next fall.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
It is in the house where Bryn famously "surfed the world wide web" to give Gavin directions from Barry to Essex in one of the first ever episodes.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Jeremy Grantham was born toward the tail end of the Great Depression, but has surfed plenty of subsequent booms and busts in his storied investment career.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
In the 2021 elections, Hichilema, who had already made five unsuccessful runs for the presidency, surfed a wave of popularity that swept him into power in a landslide victory over Lungu.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2025
This semester, a student senator told the campus paper she was glad Yale has so far surfed under the radar; she didn’t want to end up “like our peer institutions.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025
Soon he was keeping to a steady eight knots, surging to nine and ten when she surfed and slid down the waves.
From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen
Evergrande Group was once the face of Chinese real estate, surfing a decades-long property boom as it peddled home-ownership dreams.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The magazine also featured photographs of Macron engaging in water sports such as foil surfing, during a summer marked by successive heatwaves and deadly fires in France.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Papin, her 9-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son settled into a routine of horseback-riding lessons in the morning and surfing in the afternoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Tributes were paid from many of Strong's team-mates and friends in surfing.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
It was all you had to wear to spend your days surfing the job ads.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
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.
