surface [ sur -fis ] SHOW IPA
/ ˈsɜr fɪs / PHONETIC RESPELLING
noun the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of a thing; outermost or uppermost layer or area.
any face of a body or thing: the six surfaces of a cube.
extent or area of outer face; superficial area.
the outward appearance, especially as distinguished from the inner nature: to look below the surface of a matter.
Geometry . any figure having only two dimensions; part or all of the boundary of a solid.
land or sea transportation, rather than air, underground, or undersea transportation.
Aeronautics . an airfoil.
SEE MORE SEE LESS adjective of, on, or pertaining to the surface; external.
apparent rather than real; superficial: to be guilty of surface judgments.
of, relating to, or via land or sea: surface mail.
Linguistics . belonging to a late stage in the transformational derivation of a sentence; belonging to the surface structure . SEE MORE SEE LESS verb (used with object), sur·faced, sur·fac·ing. to finish the surface of; give a particular kind of surface to; make even or smooth.
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), sur·faced, sur·fac·ing. to rise to the surface: The submarine surfaced after four days.
to work on or at the surface.
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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Origin of surface 1605–15; <French, equivalent to
sur- sur-1 +
face face , apparently modeled on Latin
superficies superficies
OTHER WORDS FROM surface sur·face·less, adjective sur·fac·er, noun non·sur·face, noun, adjective un·sur·faced, adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for surface Now Domokos had the average shapes produced by splitting a flat surface or a three-dimensional block.
The end of the maze is a platform just under the water’s surface .
Mighty mills the outside wall surface s of the buildings, so it can give the structures any shape or appearance they want, from typical siding to more decorative patterns.
Underwater, turbulence thrashed his body, then released him to the surface , where he drifted into the shallows.
It’s counterintuitive on the surface , but a variety of high-profile conservation laws, like NEPA, FLPMA, and NFMA, not only mandate significant local input but also provide the tools for it.
Whatever frustrations or disappointments he felt about politics never surface d.
“I am just floored by this,” Jo Farrell, now 83, told The Denver Post eight years ago when the allegations first surface d.
Recently, when whistleblowers finally surface d, the Home Office officials could find no trace of the dossier.
A few weeks before this, a video surface d of an Ebola victim in Monrovia, Liberia who had been presumed dead.
When the story surface d in the press, Shumlin backtracked and said it all been a misunderstanding.
Landy rasped his feet to evenness and cautioned that he would have to be shod if used on hard-surface d roads.
But how do you disable a smooth-surface d turtle-backed machine?
The cement can be forced into place with the hands and then surface d with a trowel.
They descended a minor slope and came to a hard-surface d road with tire marks on it and a sign sternly urging care in driving.
That was just the moment to "fall up against" the hard-surface d man.
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noun the exterior face of an object or one such face (as modifier ) surface gloss the area or size of such a face (as modifier ) surface measurements material resembling such a face, with length and width but without depth
the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature (as modifier ) a surface resemblance geometry the complete boundary of a solid figure a continuous two-dimensional configuration the uppermost level of the land or sea (as modifier ) surface transportation come to the surface to emerge; become apparent
on the surface to all appearances
SEE MORE SEE LESS verb to rise or cause to rise to or as if to the surface (of water, etc)
(tr) to treat the surface of, as by polishing, smoothing, etc
(tr) to furnish with a surface
(intr) mining to work at or near the ground surface to wash surface ore deposits (intr) to become apparent; emerge
(intr) informal to wake up to get up SEE MORE SEE LESS
Derived forms of surface surfaceless , adjective surfacer , noun Word Origin for surface C17: from French, from sur on + face face , probably on the model of Latin superficies
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
n. The outer or topmost part of a solid structure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
see on the surface; scratch the surface.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.