surface

[ sur-fis ]

noun

1. the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of a thing; outermost or uppermost layer or area.
2. any face of a body or thing:

   the six surfaces of a cube.

3. extent or area of outer face; superficial area.
4. the outward appearance, especially as distinguished from the inner nature:

   to look below the surface of a matter.

5. Geometry. any figure having only two dimensions; part or all of the boundary of a solid.
6. land or sea transportation, rather than air, underground, or undersea transportation.
7. Aeronautics. an airfoil.

adjective

1. of, on, or pertaining to the surface; external.
2. apparent rather than real; superficial:

   to be guilty of surface judgments.

3. of, relating to, or via land or sea:

   surface mail.

4. Linguistics. belonging to a late stage in the transformational derivation of a sentence; belonging to the surface structure.

verb (used with object)

, sur·faced, sur·fac·ing.

1. to finish the surface of; give a particular kind of surface to; make even or smooth.
2. 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)

, sur·faced, sur·fac·ing.

1. to rise to the surface:

   The submarine surfaced after four days.

2. to work on or at the surface.

surface

/ ˈsɜːfɪs /

noun

1. 1. the exterior face of an object or one such face
   2. ( as modifier )

      surface gloss

2. 1. the area or size of such a face
   2. ( as modifier )

      surface measurements

3. material resembling such a face, with length and width but without depth
4. 1. the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature
   2. ( as modifier )

      a surface resemblance

5. geometry
   1. the complete boundary of a solid figure
   2. a continuous two-dimensional configuration
6. 1. the uppermost level of the land or sea
   2. ( as modifier )

      surface transportation

7. come to the surface
   to emerge; become apparent
8. on the surface
   to all appearances

verb

1. to rise or cause to rise to or as if to the surface (of water, etc)
2. tr to treat the surface of, as by polishing, smoothing, etc
3. tr to furnish with a surface
4. intr mining
   1. to work at or near the ground surface
   2. to wash surface ore deposits
5. intr to become apparent; emerge
6. informal.
   intr
   1. to wake up
   2. to get up

Derived Forms

• ˈsurfacer, noun
• ˈsurfaceless, adjective

Other Words From

• surface·less adjective
• surfac·er noun
• non·surface noun adjective
• un·surfaced adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of surface¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from French; equivalent to sur- ¹ + face; apparently modeled on Latin superficies superficies

Word History and Origins

Origin of surface¹

C17: from French, from sur on + face face , probably on the model of Latin superficies

Idioms and Phrases

see on the surface ; scratch the surface .

Example Sentences

About half of the proteins in our cells contain surface cysteines, so this single protein mobility defect can impact many different cellular pathways.

From Science Daily

Soccer players who headed the ball at high levels showed abnormality of the brain's white matter adjacent to sulci, which are deep grooves in the brain's surface.

From Science Daily

The hosts struggled with their line and length, failing to take advantage of a pitch that offered more pace and bounce than the stodgy surface in East London.

From BBC

Cancer cells on the surface are thought to have natural advantages compared to cells deep within.

From Science Daily

A third factor: a series of smaller-scale atmospheric waves that gathered heat from the Pacific Ocean surface and transported it eastward onto land.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• area
• expanse
• exterior
• facade
• façade
• face
• level
• side
• skin
• top