surround

[ suh-round ]
See synonyms for: surroundsurroundedsurroundingsurrounds on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to enclose on all sides; encompass: She was surrounded by reporters.

  2. to form an enclosure around; encircle: A stone wall surrounds the estate.

  1. to enclose (a body of troops, a fort or town, etc.) so as to cut off communication or retreat.

noun
  1. something that surrounds, as the area, border, etc., around an object or central space: a tile surround for the shower stall.

  2. environment or setting: The designer created a Persian surround for the new restaurant.

  1. Hunting.

    • a means of hunting in which wild animals are encircled and chased into a special spot that makes their escape impossible.

    • the act of hunting by this means.

    • the location encircled by hunters using this means.

Origin of surround

1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English surounden “to inundate, submerge,” from Anglo-French surounder, Middle French s(o)ronder, from 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 (verb)

Other words from surround

  • pre·sur·round, verb (used with object)

Words Nearby surround

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use surround in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for surround

surround

/ (səˈraʊnd) /


verb(tr)
  1. to encircle or enclose or cause to be encircled or enclosed

  2. to deploy forces on all sides of (a place or military formation), so preventing access or retreat

  1. to exist around: I dislike the people who surround her

noun
  1. 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

  2. mainly US

    • a method of capturing wild beasts by encircling the area in which they are believed to be

    • the area so encircled

Origin of surround

1
C15 surrounden to overflow, from Old French suronder, from Late Latin superundāre, from Latin super- + undāre to abound, from unda a wave

Derived forms of surround

  • surrounding, adjective

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