surrounded

American  

[suh-roun-did] / səˈraʊn dɪd /

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.

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

• unsurrounded adjective

Etymology

Origin of surrounded

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

Some of the business world’s most visible CEOs, like Elon Musk, now travel surrounded by a bevy of bodyguards.

From The Wall Street Journal

One of the key sources of inspiration was just the simple observation that today we’re just surrounded by filters, AI, memes and all this imagery that is basically in our social feeds all the time.

From The Wall Street Journal

“We’ve learned how to survive,” Cabello said from a street in Caracas, wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet while surrounded by armed security forces in black uniforms.

From The Wall Street Journal

When sugar dissolves in water, for example, each sugar molecule is quickly surrounded by shifting clusters of water molecules.

From Science Daily

With dour, even gloomy-looking, early 20th Century buildings surrounded by busy, drab roads and large, intimidating metal gates, it has a very discreet feel.

From BBC

Related Words

• ringed