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definitions

surround

[suh-round]
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verb (used with object)

to enclose on all sides; encompass: She was surrounded by reporters.
to form an enclosure round; encircle: A stone wall surrounds the estate.
to enclose (a body of troops, a fort or town, etc.) so as to cut off communication or retreat.

noun

something that surrounds, as the area, border, etc., around an object or central space: a tile surround for the shower stall.
environment or setting: The designer created a Persian surround for the new restaurant.
Hunting.
  1. a means of hunting in which wild animals are encircled and chased into a special spot that makes their escape impossible.
  2. the act of hunting by this means.
  3. the location encircled by hunters using this means.

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RELATED WORDS

inundate, besiege, envelop, ring, circle, beleaguer, bound, beset, gird, rim, verge, circumscribe, encompass, skirt, circumvent, border, limit, confine, blockade, compass

Origin of surround

1400–50; late Middle English surounden to inundate, submerge < Anglo-French surounder, Middle French s(o)ronder < Late Latin superundāre to overflow, equivalent to Latin super- super- + undāre to flood, derivative of unda wave (see undulate); current spelling by analysis as sur-1 + round1 (v.)
Related formspre·sur·round, verb (used with object)un·sur·round·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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Contemporary Examples of surround

Historical Examples of surround

British Dictionary definitions for surround

surround

verb (tr)

to encircle or enclose or cause to be encircled or enclosed
to deploy forces on all sides of (a place or military formation), so preventing access or retreat
to exist aroundI dislike the people who surround her

noun

mainly British a border, esp the area of uncovered floor between the walls of a room and the carpet or around an opening or panel
mainly US
  1. a method of capturing wild beasts by encircling the area in which they are believed to be
  2. the area so encircled
Derived Formssurrounding, adjective

Word Origin for surround

C15 surrounden to overflow, from Old French suronder, from Late Latin superundāre, from Latin super- + undāre to abound, from unda a wave
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
Word Origin and History for surround
v.

early 15c., "to flood, overflow," from Middle French soronder "to overflow, abound, surpass, dominate," from Late Latin superundare "overflow," from Latin super "over" (see super-) + undare "to flow in waves," from unda "wave" (see water (n.); and cf. abound). Sense of "to shut in on all sides" first recorded 1610s, influenced by figurative meaning in French of "dominate," and by sound association with round. Related: Surrounded; surrounding.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper