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

Explanation

Are there people on every side of you, giving you no way to escape? Then you're surrounded. Sorry to hear it! Being surrounded is one way of being trapped, but it's a trap caused by other people. On TV shows, you'll often hear police officers say to a criminal: "Come out with your hands up. You're surrounded!" If a criminal is surrounded, then the police have every exit covered — there are police on all sides. If you look closely at surrounded, you'll see round in it — just picture that round circle trapping someone in, and you will remember the meaning of surrounded.

Example Sentences

Protesters crossed a street near the facility and surrounded an ICE agent’s vehicle.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Abdullah's daughter Hawaa Abdullah, surrounded by her seven siblings during a media appearance on Tuesday, said their father would want the community to stand together as one.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

“This was a tremendous burden, a tremendous cost,” said Trump, surrounded by executives from supermarket chains including Kroger, Fairway, Neimann Foods and Piggly Wiggly.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

The samples contained pollen and plant waxes associated with humid West African rainforests, while very low levels of grass pollen suggested the site was surrounded by dense woodland rather than a thin strip of forest.

From Science Daily • May 20, 2026

Though he was sure the Red Woods weren’t surrounded by skyscrapers the way he was.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Related Words

• ringed