surroundings
Britishplural noun
Explanation
Your surroundings are the things all around you. When you park your car in a huge lot, paying attention to your surroundings can help you find the car again later. You can use the noun surroundings to mean the nearby environment — all of the objects close by, as well as the location itself — and also the circumstances or conditions where you are. When someone builds a house, the surroundings will help determine which direction it will face and how many windows it will have. Surroundings stems from surround, "be all around," but originally "flood or overflow."
Vocabulary lists containing surroundings
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.
Dr Roisin Campbell-Palmer, head of restoration at the Beaver Trust, said the arrival of the kits suggested the animals had settled well into their new surroundings.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
On Friday, Fury, 37, fights Mariusz Wach in the unlikely surroundings of Pattaya, Thailand.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
People often initially interpret the sound as something coming from their surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026
Gensler’s strategy can entail making these often blank-faced barns for computer servers look more organic to the local surroundings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
A moment later a small girl appears in the doorway, dressed too nicely for the chaotic shabbiness of the surroundings.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
