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
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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
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surfacing
present participle
-
to rise to the surface.
The submarine surfaced after four days.
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to work on or at the surface.
noun
-
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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
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the complete boundary of a solid figure
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a continuous two-dimensional configuration
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-
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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
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have been surfacingperfect progressive
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has been surfacingperfect progressive
Past
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surfacedsimple
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had surfacedperfect
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was surfacingprogressive
-
were surfacingprogressive
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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 gold was stashed in a bag under the stone cellar surface below the 1890s villa built for the brewery’s onetime owner, Theophilus Van Assche, said local police officer Katrijn Braem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
Roll the dough: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into roughly a 12-by-16-inch rectangle, about the thickness of dough for cinnamon rolls.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
One 2026 study found unstable surface training significantly improves postural control, or the ability to remain stable, in older adults.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
China's Tianwen-1 mission already landed a rover named Zhurong on the surface of Mars in 2021, in one of the most spectacular successes of Beijing's space programme.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Danny held out his hand over the surface and nearly fell backward.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
If there is a note of frustration in her, it surfaces around the question of who gets to write at all.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 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
"Things like spatial distributions of the bones and their surfaces, down to elemental compositions and proteins trapped in ancient cells."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
The pencil made a slight sweeping noise as though it were grating down the finer, more resistant surfaces of the white page.
From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat
According to Barron’s, concerns have surfaced over the company’s ability to drive traffic as artificial intelligence becomes a bigger source of online information.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 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
Shares of companies in Situational’s portfolio rose Thursday after news of Situational’s stock sales surfaced.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
As part of a Gen Z contingent whose appreciation for birding has surfaced on social media, Megan also shares her sightings on TikTok and Instagram, external.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
When Florida surfaced, she was already far downstream of the boulder, spluttering and coughing.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
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
Internal complaints—about anything from bullying and policy violations to performance issues and workplace violence—are surfacing with increasing frequency, data suggest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
Within hours of the accusations surfacing on Friday, he lost the backing of prominent supporters for his gubernatorial run and many of his staff members resigned.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
They kept sinking and surfacing, but Nhamo thought she could see twenty adults and six babies.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
