surge

[ surj ]

/ sɜrdʒ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR surge ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a strong, wavelike, forward movement, rush, or sweep: the onward surge of an angry mob.

a strong, swelling, wavelike volume or body of something: a billowing surge of smoke.

a sudden, strong increase or burst: a surge of energy; surges of emotion.

Military. a significant increase in the number of troops deployed to an area.

the rolling swell of the sea.

the swelling and rolling sea: The surge crashed against the rocky coast.

a swelling wave; billow.

Meteorology.

a widespread change in atmospheric pressure that is in addition to cyclonic and normal diurnal changes.
storm surge.

Electricity.

a sudden rush or burst of current or voltage.
a violent oscillatory disturbance.

Nautical. a slackening or slipping back, as of a rope or cable.

Machinery.

an uneven flow and strong momentum given to a fluid, as water in a tank, resulting in a rapid, temporary rise in pressure.
pulsating unevenness of motion in an engine or gas turbine.

verb (used without object), surged, surg·ing.

(of a ship) to rise and fall, toss about, or move along on the waves: to surge at anchor.

to rise, roll, move, or swell forward in or like waves: The sea surged against the shore. The crowd surged back and forth.

to rise as if by a heaving or swelling force: Blood surged to his face.

Electricity.

to increase suddenly, as current or voltage.
to oscillate violently.

Nautical.

to slack off or loosen a rope or cable around a capstan or windlass.
to slip back, as a rope.

Machinery. to move with pulsating unevenness, as something driven by an engine or gas turbine.

verb (used with object), surged, surg·ing.

to cause to surge or roll in or as in waves.

Nautical. to slacken (a rope).

Words nearby surge

surfperch, surfriding, surfy, surg., surg. gen., surge, surge chamber, surge protector, surge tank, surge tide, surgeon

Origin of surge

1480–90; perhaps < Latin surgere to spring up, arise, stand up

OTHER WORDS FROM surge

un·surg·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH surge

serge surge

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for surged

Hordes of celebrants, swept by rain, surged over the five-year-old Brooklyn Bridge.
128 Years Old and Still a Looker: Happy Birthday to Lady Liberty|Elizabeth Mitchell|October 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa has surged in the past few weeks, delivering more money, supplies, and doctors.
This New Ebola Test Is As Easy As a Pregnancy Test, So Why Aren’t We Using It?|Abby Haglage|October 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Tonalist, with his fresh legs, surged past Commissioner to take the race by a nose.
Why California Chrome’s Fairy Tale Didn’t End Happily Ever After|Michael Fensom|June 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Independents have surged from 15 percent to over 20 percent.
The GOP’s Long, Hard Road in California|Stuart Stevens|May 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST

And as each conference has surged, there has been a different effect on the economy.
Want a Super Bowl Boost for the Economy? Root for Seattle.|Mark Lieberman|February 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With the superhuman strength of the last gasp I surged under my tormentor—and he noticed me.
Yellowstone Nights|Herbert Quick
As things had surged over him, he had had too much to think over.
T. Tembarom|Frances Hodgson Burnett
The hallucination of the great love scene was still in her eyes; it still, he could see, surged in her blood.
Evelyn Innes|George Moore
The centre had surged forward, the wings had hung back, and it had become slightly convex.
Famous Sea Fights|John Richard Hale
Nevertheless, the pity of it all, the seeming heartlessness, surged in on Whittenden.
The Brentons|Anna Chapin Ray

British Dictionary definitions for surged

surge

/ (sɜːdʒ) /

noun

a strong rush or sweep; sudden increasea surge of anger

the rolling swell of the sea, esp after the passage of a large wave

a heavy rolling motion or soundthe surge of the trumpets

an undulating rolling surface, as of hills

a billowing cloud or volume

nautical a temporary release or slackening of a rope or cable

a large momentary increase in the voltage or current in an electric circuit

an upward instability or unevenness in the power output of an engine

astronomy a short-lived disturbance, occurring during the eruption of a solar flare

verb

(intr) (of waves, the sea, etc) to rise or roll with a heavy swelling motion

(intr) to move like a heavy sea

nautical to slacken or temporarily release (a rope or cable) from a capstan or (of a rope, etc) to be slackened or released and slip back

(intr) (of an electric current or voltage) to undergo a large momentary increase

(tr) rare to cause to move in or as if in a wave or waves

Derived forms of surge

surgeless, adjectivesurger, noun

Word Origin for surge

C15: from Latin surgere to rise, from sub- up + regere to lead

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