surround

English

Etymology

From Middle French soronder, from Late Latin superundare, from super + undare.

Pronunciation

Verb

surround (third-person singular simple present surrounds, present participle surrounding, simple past and past participle surrounded)

  1. (transitive) To encircle something or simultaneously extend in all directions.
    • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 230c.
      and this way they get rid of those grand and stubborn opinions that surround them.
  2. (transitive) To enclose or confine something on all sides so as to prevent escape.

Translations

to encircle something or simultaneously extend in all directions
to enclose to prevent escape
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Noun

surround (plural surrounds)

  1. (UK) Anything, such as a fence or border that surrounds something.
    • 1972, Frederick Forsyth, The Odessa File, Viking, SBN 670-52042-x, chapter 15, page 283:
      He drifted through the room, avoiding the furniture by instinct, closed the door that led to the passage, and only then flicked on his flashlight.
      It swept around the room, picking out a desk, a telephone, a wall of bookshelves, and a deep armchair, and finally settled on a handsome fireplace with a large surround of red brick.

Derived terms

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Last modified on 20 May 2013, at 00:30