surround

[ suh-round ]

verb (used with object)

1. to enclose on all sides; encompass:

   She was surrounded by reporters.

2. to form an enclosure around; encircle:

   A stone wall surrounds the estate.

3. to enclose (a body of troops, a fort or town, etc.) so as to cut off communication or retreat.

noun

1. something that surrounds, as the area, border, etc., around an object or central space:

   a tile surround for the shower stall.

2. environment or setting:

   The designer created a Persian surround for the new restaurant.

3. Hunting.
   1. a means of hunting in which wild animals are encircled and chased into a special spot that makes their escape impossible.
   2. the act of hunting by this means.
   3. the location encircled by hunters using this means.

surround

/ səˈraʊnd /

verb

1. to encircle or enclose or cause to be encircled or enclosed
2. to deploy forces on all sides of (a place or military formation), so preventing access or retreat
3. to exist around

   I dislike the people who surround her

noun

1. a border, esp the area of uncovered floor between the walls of a room and the carpet or around an opening or panel
2. 1. a method of capturing wild beasts by encircling the area in which they are believed to be
   2. the area so encircled

Derived Forms

• surˈrounding, adjective

Other Words From

• pre·sur·round verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of surround¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English surounden “to inundate, submerge,” from Anglo-French surounder, Middle French s(o)ronder, from Late Latin superundāre “to overflow,” equivalent to Latin super- super- + undāre “to flood,” derivative of unda “wave” ( undulate ); current spelling by analysis as sur- ¹ + round ¹ (verb)

Word History and Origins

Origin of surround¹

C15 surrounden to overflow, from Old French suronder, from Late Latin superundāre, from Latin super- + undāre to abound, from unda a wave

Example Sentences

And the big question surrounding the team is what happens to it if there ever comes a point when he does not want to continue?

From BBC

You said that while doing that solo dance, you felt a force field of love surrounding you from the cast and crew.

From Los Angeles Times

But the council has refused to allow this, previously saying the excavation was "not possible" under its licencing permit and "excavation itself would have a huge environmental impact on the surrounding area".

From BBC

Therefore, the quantity of oxygen available for the keratinocytes is lower in the basal layers of the epidermis compared to the top layers that are directly exposed to the air that surrounds us.

From Science Daily

In a sports park next to the red walls and glossy blue tiles which surround Beijing’s Temple of Heaven, a group of pensioners are working out.

From BBC

Related Words

• besiege
• circle
• envelop
• hem in
• inundate
• ring