surround
Americanverb (used with object)
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surrounds,
present (3rd person singular)
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surrounded,
past participle, past
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surrounding
present participle
noun
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something that surrounds, as the area, border, etc., around an object or central space.
a tile surround for the shower stall.
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environment or setting.
The designer created a Persian surround for the new restaurant.
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Hunting.
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a means of hunting in which wild animals are encircled and chased into a special spot that makes their escape impossible.
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the act of hunting by this means.
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the location encircled by hunters using this means.
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verb
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to encircle or enclose or cause to be encircled or enclosed
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to deploy forces on all sides of (a place or military formation), so preventing access or retreat
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to exist around
I dislike the people who surround her
noun
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a border, esp the area of uncovered floor between the walls of a room and the carpet or around an opening or panel
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a method of capturing wild beasts by encircling the area in which they are believed to be
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the area so encircled
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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surroundsimple
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surroundssimple
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have surroundedperfect
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has surroundedperfect
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am surroundingprogressive
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are surroundingprogressive
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is surroundingprogressive
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have been surroundingperfect progressive
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has been surroundingperfect progressive
Past
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surroundedsimple
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had surroundedperfect
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was surroundingprogressive
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were surroundingprogressive
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had been surroundingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of surround
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 + round 1 (verb)
Explanation
When you think of the word surround, think of something that's around you on all sides, like the trees that surround you in a forest or the people who surround you on a city street at rush hour. Sometimes surround describes the position of troops that force the enemy to surrender. You can also surround your property with a fence, or surround yourself with positive people. Both of these offer a way to protect or strengthen the thing in the middle — your house or your well-being. In a movie theater that has "surround sound," the audience feels like it is in the middle of the action because of the speakers placed all around the space.
Vocabulary lists containing surround
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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:
“I think it’s a betrayal of California State Parks’ commitment to the communities that surround this park, that fought dearly for this park,” Woods said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Syrsky led the defence of Kyiv when Russia tried to surround the city in the first days of its invasion.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
From the Capitol to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House, the structures that surround us have expressed and shaped the country’s ideals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
You could see how they crammed into Westminster Hall to surround him for a giant photo on his first day back in Parliament.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
The friends drape the coffin in a white cloth and surround it with masses of flowers, dahlias and sunflowers, “yellow flowers everywhere.”
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
The biggest reputational risk surrounds the accusations of academic plagiarism now under investigation - and denied by Arday - because they get to the heart of what a university is about.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
This time around, Pochettino should have a proper opportunity to make his imprint on both the team and the larger system that surrounds it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Civil Protection placed Attica, which surrounds the capital, and neighbouring Boeotia at level four on a five-point fire danger scale.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Controversy again surrounds the Dodgers’ trip to the White House.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
But what surrounds the model is not something her father conveyed to her; what’s beyond the model is the most compelling thing.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
"When we see something very red in the universe, we often assume that it is surrounded by dust, like soot or ash," said Robert Simcoe, a study co-author from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
We ducked under a gate and surrounded Ernie as he headed to the locker room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
He was surrounded by his beloved longtime partner, children, grandchildren and dog, he said, in a room filled with photos and quotes of his longtime hero, boxing champion, Muhammad Ali.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
A squat little gem painted gold, filled with vermouth jelly, surrounded by blueberry toast.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
It’s about two miles to my new home—a cottage with a thatched roof, surrounded by tall grass and gnarled apple trees.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Several locations in the surrounding Krasnodar region were also struck by "several hundred drones" overnight, Kondratyev added, with dozens of buildings damaged, including homes.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The related drawings surrounding “Woman I” are even fiercer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The region surrounding Earth is getting more crowded as thousands of satellites and pieces of space debris move through low Earth orbit.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
"What is special about MoM-BH*-1 is, the black hole star is essentially completely outshining its surrounding host galaxy, such that we're seeing pure black hole star light."
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
“I’d still like a wall,” I said under my breath, glancing around at the vast ocean surrounding us on all sides.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
