surrender

American  

[suh-ren-der] / səˈrɛn dər /

verb (used with object)

• surrenders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• surrendered,
  past participle,  past
• surrendering
  present participle

1. 

   to yield (something) to the possession or power of another; deliver up possession of on demand or under duress.

   to surrender the fort to the enemy; to surrender the stolen goods to the police.

2. to give (oneself ) up, as to the police.

3. to give (oneself ) up to some influence, course, emotion, etc..

   He surrendered himself to a life of hardship.

4. to give up, abandon, or relinquish (comfort, hope, etc.).

   Synonyms:

   renounce

5. to yield or resign (an office, privilege, etc.) in favor of another.

   Synonyms:

   forgo, abandon, cede, waive

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verb (used without object)

• surrenders,
  present (3rd person singular)
• surrendered,
  past participle,  past
• surrendering
  present participle

1. to give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield.

   Synonyms:

   capitulate

noun

• surrenders
  plural

1. the act or an instance of surrendering.

   Synonyms:

   relinquishment, capitulation

2. Insurance. the voluntary abandonment of a life-insurance policy by the owner for any of its nonforfeiture values.

3. the deed by which a legal surrendering is made.

surrender British  

/ səˈrɛndə /

verb

1. (tr) to relinquish to the control or possession of another under duress or on demand

   to surrender a city

2. (tr) to relinquish or forego (an office, position, etc), esp as a voluntary concession to another

   he surrendered his place to a lady

3. to give (oneself) up physically, as or as if to an enemy

4. to allow (oneself) to yield, as to a temptation, influence, etc

5. (tr) to give up (hope, etc)

6. (tr) law to give up or restore (an estate), esp to give up a lease before expiration of the term

7. obsolete (tr) to return or render (thanks, etc)

8. to present oneself at court at the appointed time after having been on bail

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noun

1. the act or instance of surrendering

2. insurance the voluntary discontinuation of a life policy by its holder in return for a consideration (the surrender value )

3. law

   1. the yielding up or restoring of an estate, esp the giving up of a lease before its term has expired

   2. the giving up to the appropriate authority of a fugitive from justice

   3. the act of surrendering or being surrendered to bail

   4. the deed by which a legal surrender is effected

Synonym Usage

See yield.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonsurrender
  noun
• presurrender
  noun
• surrenderer
  noun
• prosurrender
  adjective
• unsurrendered
  adjective
• unsurrendering
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• surrenders
  plural

Participles

• surrendering
  present
• surrendered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• surrender
  simple
• surrenders
  simple
• have surrendered
  perfect
• has surrendered
  perfect
• am surrendering
  progressive
• are surrendering
  progressive
• is surrendering
  progressive
• have been surrendering
  perfect progressive
• has been surrendering
  perfect progressive

Past

• surrendered
  simple
• had surrendered
  perfect
• was surrendering
  progressive
• were surrendering
  progressive
• had been surrendering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will surrender
  simple
• will have surrendered
  perfect
• will be surrendering
  progressive
• will have been surrendering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of surrender

First recorded in 1425–75; (for the verb) late Middle English surrendren, from Anglo-French surrender, Old French surrendre “to give up,” from sur- sur- ¹ + rendre “to render” ( see render ¹); (for the noun) from Anglo-French; Old French surrendre, noun use of the infinitive

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Explanation

To surrender is to give up control of something to someone else. If you miss curfew, your parents might make you surrender the keys to the car. Okay, it's only a minivan, but it's still cooler than being on foot patrol. If you want someone to give up, you might order them to surrender. The witch in the Wizard of Oz wrote "Surrender Dorothy!" in the sky above the Emerald City. You can use the noun surrender when you give up on a task. For example, if you are cleaning the house, but every time you finish a room, the kids mess up another, you can throw your hands up and declare, "I surrender!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

surrender surrenders surrendered surrendering

In a cloak-and-dagger operation he sneaked out of Brazil via Argentina and Ecuador, after being ordered to surrender his passports due to several ongoing investigations against him.

From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2026

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him late Sunday to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

On Thursday, he was granted $10,000 bail, ordered not to contact or post about his accuser, and to surrender his passport.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Andrew Milgram of Marblegate Asset Management has warned of a potential “doom loop”: Worries about private credit lead retirees to surrender their annuities, forcing more selling of loans that don’t trade, feeding more worry.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Cornwallis was forced to surrender on October 19, 1781, as described in the story of Billy Lee.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

A chairman who avoids discussing the outlook can’t explain the committee’s decisions and surrenders a tool for steering it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Local media also reported that Koreans are surrendering their life-insurance policies to buy shares, with policy surrenders said to have surged 16% in the last quarter among the top three insurers.

From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026

Harket, 65, said he had "no problem accepting the diagnosis", adding: "With time, I've taken to heart my 94-year-old father's attitude to the way the organism gradually surrenders: 'I use whatever works'."

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2025

And it proceeds in an escalating cycle of tit-for-tat moves until one of the parties involved surrenders.

From Salon ● May 20, 2025

There was no counterbalance to stagnation, to pessimism, to the most abject surrenders to mysticism.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Kalinsky surrendered one of his annuities and continued to hold on to the other two.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Rooney and Myha'la surrendered theirs, but traitor Jama managed to hold on to hers.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Snell surrendered just one more hit, but when he issued his fifth walk with two outs in the fourth inning, his pitch count was up to 90.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

What diners surrendered wasn’t necessarily quality so much as a little hospitality, a little transparency and, increasingly, the expectation that a restaurant represented somebody’s particular idea of what a restaurant should be.

From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026

I could have told him all that, could have surrendered the weight, let the relationship carry it and grow stronger.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Instead of surrendering to sticker shock, people are finding ways to gamify their daily expenses, hunt down hidden perks and even double down on their goals for the future.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026

Detroit’s defense is a problem, especially the secondary, and the Lions are surrendering almost 32 points per game.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

She can become a mother without surrendering her career.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

But to the NBA, the Clippers are surrendering.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

He holds up his hands like he’s surrendering.

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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Related Words

• abandon
• capitulate
• cede
• commit
• concede
• give in
• hand over
• leave
• quit
• relinquish
• renounce
• submit
• succumb
• waive
• yield

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