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surprise party

American  

noun

  • surprise parties
    plural
  1. a party or celebration planned for someone as a surprise.

  2. something that surprises someone.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of surprise party

First recorded in 1835–45

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:

This is a surprise party season for the Colts, who bounced back from a six-turnover stinkbomb to the Steelers a week ago.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025

A D-Day veteran shot just 12 days after being flown into Normandy was treated to a surprise party in Suffolk for his 100th birthday.

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2024

It kind of felt like a surprise party, except none of my close friends were there.

From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2023

Kesha bought her a dress, told her to put on her heels and took her out to eat, where she’d planned a surprise party.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 17, 2022

So it was to be a surprise party.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

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