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surface
[ sur-fis ]
noun
- the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of a thing; outermost or uppermost layer or area.
- any face of a body or thing:
the six surfaces of a cube.
- extent or area of outer face; superficial area.
- the outward appearance, especially as distinguished from the inner nature:
to look below the surface of a matter.
- Geometry. any figure having only two dimensions; part or all of the boundary of a solid.
- land or sea transportation, rather than air, underground, or undersea transportation.
- Aeronautics. an airfoil.
adjective
- of, on, or pertaining to the surface; external.
- apparent rather than real; superficial:
to be guilty of surface judgments.
- of, relating to, or via land or sea:
surface mail.
- Linguistics. belonging to a late stage in the transformational derivation of a sentence; belonging to the surface structure.
verb (used with object)
- to finish the surface of; give a particular kind of surface to; make even or smooth.
- to bring to the surface; cause to appear openly:
Depth charges surfaced the sub. So far we've surfaced no applicants.
verb (used without object)
- to rise to the surface:
The submarine surfaced after four days.
- to work on or at the surface.
surface
/ ˈsɜːfɪs /
noun
- the exterior face of an object or one such face
- ( as modifier )
surface gloss
- the area or size of such a face
- ( as modifier )
surface measurements
- material resembling such a face, with length and width but without depth
- the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature
- ( as modifier )
a surface resemblance
- geometry
- the complete boundary of a solid figure
- a continuous two-dimensional configuration
- the uppermost level of the land or sea
- ( as modifier )
surface transportation
- come to the surfaceto emerge; become apparent
- on the surfaceto all appearances
verb
- to rise or cause to rise to or as if to the surface (of water, etc)
- tr to treat the surface of, as by polishing, smoothing, etc
- tr to furnish with a surface
- intr mining
- to work at or near the ground surface
- to wash surface ore deposits
- intr to become apparent; emerge
- informal.intr
- to wake up
- to get up
Derived Forms
- ˈsurfacer, noun
- ˈsurfaceless, adjective
Other Words From
- surface·less adjective
- surfac·er noun
- non·surface noun adjective
- un·surfaced adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of surface1
Word History and Origins
Origin of surface1
Idioms and Phrases
see on the surface ; scratch the surface .Example Sentences
Similar claims of physical abuse and beatings during the arrests have surfaced in overseas Tibetan media reports.
At least on the surface, that event took all the above-mentioned nations and the rest of the world by surprise.
We hear so often, “write what you know,” but it was actually diving into a character who was, on the surface, so unlike me that really gave me a sense of freedom to explore.
Focus groups with voters could help shape the polling questions, which would be intended to surface areas of hidden consensus, as well as to identify points of genuine conflict.
Amid the broken pieces of my thoughtful gift, revelations began to surface.
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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.
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