surrounded

[suh-roun-did]

adjective

1. (of troops, a fort or town, etc.) encircled or hemmed in by enemies on all sides so as to cut off communication or retreat.

   Only a few of the surrounded infantrymen survived, escaping in the darkness of the early morning.

2. enclosed or shut in on all sides, as by a barrier or border, desert or mountains, etc. (usually used in combination).

   The huge master bedroom features a granite-surrounded whirlpool tub.

   The surrounded parcel of land is provided with road access by a right-of-way through one of the encircling properties.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of surround.

Other Word Forms

• unsurrounded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of surrounded¹

First recorded in 1590–1600, for an earlier sense; surround ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; surround ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

“It is surrounded by a large forest,” she ventured.

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To Penelope it was the safest place in the world, a place where she would be surrounded by old friends and beloved teachers, and where everyone would have the Incorrigible children’s best interests at heart.

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It had been furnished only with a long table surrounded by precisely one dozen chairs.

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The sumbook was opened, spine cracked, pencil marks in the margins, surrounded by a scattering of paper.

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Resting on the forest floor, surrounded by her main food source, and munching contentedly, she is completely unaware of the precarious situation she is in—that her whole species is in.

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Related Words

• ringed