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.
It may depend on the surroundings, the organism's history, and the speed at which conditions change.
From Science Daily • May 29, 2026
The Eagles showed no signs of feeling sorry for themselves when starting the new season by defeating Premier League champions Liverpool in the Community Shield in the now-familiar surroundings of Wembley.
From BBC • May 27, 2026
Wearers will be able to access information, manage daily tasks, navigate their surroundings, communicate, and interact with mobile apps, according to company press releases.
From Barron's • May 19, 2026
As a band played “The Blue Danube,” she blocked out her hellish surroundings and imagined herself on stage in Budapest, dancing to Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
The daylight is too bright, the surroundings too mundane and green.
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.
