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.
“Thoughtfully positioned to embrace its extraordinary surroundings, the home offers an intimate connection to the coastline while maintaining a level of seclusion that is increasingly difficult to find.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
The English writer planned his itinerary through France, he says, to match the writers he loves with the surroundings that shaped them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
She mostly stands or kneels and makes facial expressions in reaction to her surroundings and passersby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
He thinks that smart glasses are largely about capturing information; the glasses collect as much data as they can from your surroundings and then use AI to tell you about it.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Though she couldn’t make out their surroundings, she knew this was a river.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
