surf
Americannoun
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the swell of the sea that breaks upon a shore or upon shoals.
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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)
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to ride a surfboard.
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to float on the crest of a wave toward shore.
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to swim, play, or bathe in the surf.
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to search haphazardly, as for information on a computer network or an interesting program on television.
verb (used with object)
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to ride a surfboard on.
We surfed every big wave in sight.
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to search through (a computer network or TV channels) for information or entertainment.
noun
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waves breaking on the shore or on a reef
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foam caused by the breaking of waves
verb
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(intr) to take part in surfing
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computing (on the internet) to move freely from website to website (esp in the phrase surf the net )
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to move freely between (TV channels or radio stations)
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informal to be carried on top of something
that guy's surfing the audience
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( in combination )
trainsurfing
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Synonym Usage
See wave.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surfsimple
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surfssimple
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have surfedperfect
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has surfedperfect
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am surfingprogressive
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are surfingprogressive
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is surfingprogressive
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have been surfingperfect progressive
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has been surfingperfect progressive
Past
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surfedsimple
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had surfedperfect
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was surfingprogressive
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were surfingprogressive
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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.
For decades, her insatiable musical curiosity allowed her to surf the zeitgeist, often introducing new sounds to pop before they'd gone mainstream.
From BBC • Jul. 2, 2026
"This sport is indescribable. When you catch a wave, ride it, glide along it, that feeling can't be put into words," said 23-year-old Tahseen Abu Assi, who learned how to surf from his father.
From Barron's • Jun. 22, 2026
WSJ’s Jack Gillum investigates how residential proxy software is allowing anyone to surf the web as if they were you.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 15, 2026
The body of missing 5-year-old Amada Mia Brown of San Bernardino was recovered in Laguna Beach on Thursday, two days after she vanished in high surf.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
“I’ll surf while you two do our project.”
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
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.
