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.
Primary cilia help cells sense and interpret chemical signals from their surroundings.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
The sentiment struck me as both suspiciously sensible and succinct enough to survive its surroundings, so I Googled it.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
Walker blamed the erosion of our phone manners partly on social media, which creates the sense that we must be “on” at all times, surroundings be damned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
O'Donnell was not physically injured, but she told the judge she was "more wary" of her surroundings since the attack and "far more conscious" of her "physical safety".
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
Jack quickly glanced around, taking in his surroundings, then swallowed hard as he suddenly realized how close he’d been standing to the edge of the giant’s tongue.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
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.
