surface area
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of surface area
First recorded in 1820–30
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 graphite cubes in the cap soak up water and spread it across a larger surface area than your forehead so it evaporates faster, making you feel cooler, according to research.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
However, those thermal radiators would require a large amount of surface area, and that would be in addition to the area required by the solar panels.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026
It said the total area corresponded to "only 0.18 percent of Turkey's surface area", denouncing efforts to "tarnish the mining sector".
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Children also have higher respiratory rates than adults, as well as larger lung surface area relative to their body size, resulting in higher doses of pollution per breath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Preliminary radar surveys suggested that as much as a quarter to a third of the surface area of Mars might be radar-dark, and therefore dangerous for Viking.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
