1
: the exterior or upper boundary of an object or body
on the surface of the water
the earth's surface
2
: a plane or curved two-dimensional locus of points (such as the boundary of a three-dimensional region)
plane surface
surface of a sphere
3
a
: the external or superficial aspect of something
trouble lurks below the surface
b
: an external part or layer
sanded the rough surfaces
1
a
: of, located on, or designed for use at the surface of something
b
: situated, transported, or employed on the surface of the earth
surface mail
surface vehicles
2
: appearing to be such on the surface only : superficial
surface friendships
surfaced; surfacing
1
: to give a surface to: such as
a
: to plane or make smooth
b
: to apply the surface layer to
surface a highway
2
: to bring to the surface
surface a sunken ship
1
: to work on or at the surface
2
: to come to the surface
3
: to come into public view : show up
letters that have recently surfaced
surfacer
noun
Synonyms
Examples of surface in a Sentence
Noun
The painting's surface is covered with fine cracks.
The bowl has a shiny surface.
The surface of wood was rough.
Be careful of icy surfaces on the roads.
Adjective
Despite the surface differences between the two candidates, they are very similar in most ways.
a surface stain on the wood that can easily be removed with a mild detergent
Verb
The whale surfaced and then dove back down.
The information surfaced many years later.
After several years, the actress surfaced in a comedy.
The road needs to be surfaced again.
Recent Examples on the Web
The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Like the others, she’s been raised to marry and procreate because Vault dwellers' eventual mission is to return to the surface and rebuild America.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Studies show diverging diamonds improve safety Diverging diamonds generally improve safety for freeway interchanges which serve surface streets, according to various studies.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
The model is being geolocated to the current surface and geology and geochemistry and will then be interpreted to strengthen both shallow and deep targeting.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
To achieve this commanding new hue, De Bethune’s workshops served as a laboratory of experimentation where particles became luminous, metals emitted visible light, matter oxidized, properties changed, surfaces transformed, and unprecedented natural colors appeared—voila!
—Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
The windblown ice tends to look blue compared with the surrounding surface snow.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Solar prominences, explains NASA, are large, bright loops of plasma anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere — the visible surface of the Sun — that extend into the Sun's outer atmosphere.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024
At the first imaging opportunity, LRO was oriented down 43 degrees from its typical position of looking down at the lunar surface to capture Danuri (streaked across the middle) from 3 miles, or 5 kilometers, above it.
—Stephen Smith, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
Alida Nugent, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2023
In it were tablets containing concentrated hand soap as well as multi-surface, glass and bathroom cleaners — and four empty containers.
—Susan Shain, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2023
The sub was fitted with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes and carried a mix of both anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 23 Dec. 2022
The multi-surface cleaner works with Dyson's signature de-tangling Motorbar cleaner head, a brush bar that safely captures hair and moves it along with no clogged mess.
—Lauren Fischer, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2022
Clorox’s multi-surface mist does it all.
—Jodhaira Rodriguez, Good Housekeeping, 16 Aug. 2022
Plus, its dual multi-surface rubber brushes flex to adjust to different floor types and avoid getting tangled with pet hair.
—Stephanie Mlot, PCMAG, 16 Mar. 2023
Besides the citrusy aroma, there’s a lot to love about the eco-friendly subscription service, including the reusable spray bottles—and the fact that just a small spritz of multi-surface, all-purpose cleaner is enough to banish grease from your cooktop.
—Tiffany Hopkins, Bon Appétit, 16 Feb. 2023
Pine-Sol scented multi-surface cleaners (lavender clean, sparkling wave and lemon fresh scents), CloroxPro Pine-Sol all purpose cleaners (lavender clean, sparkling wave, lemon fresh, and orange energy scents) and Clorox Professional Pine-Sol lemon fresh cleaner.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN, 26 Oct. 2022
Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2024
Photos and videos surfaced this week showing a man parading a live wolf around a Wyoming bar — and the man was fined $250 for the act, reports say.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 12 Apr. 2024
Search engines laid some of the groundwork for surfacing accurate responses from large volumes of data, but they are designed with different use cases in mind.
—Sridhar Ramaswamy, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
But Johnson is hoping an opportunity will surface again in 2025.
—Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2024
The child, then 7 years old, was removed from her mother’s care by Child Protective Services in January 2019 and went to live with her father in Tarrant County after the allegations of medical child abuse surfaced.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
The brood will surface in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
The longtime homicide detective, who is facing a jury trial on charges of perjury and bribing a witness, helped convict two men of murder who were later set free once the money-for-testimony allegations surfaced.
—David Debolt, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Following another one of Wallen's past controversies when a video of himself saying the N-word surfaced online in early 2021, Church spent time with the rising hitmaker by going fishing.
—Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
Noun
Cicadas have three pairs of legs that are adapted for grasping branches or other surfaces.
—The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
Like the others, she’s been raised to marry and procreate because Vault dwellers' eventual mission is to return to the surface and rebuild America.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Studies show diverging diamonds improve safety Diverging diamonds generally improve safety for freeway interchanges which serve surface streets, according to various studies.
—Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 11 Apr. 2024
The model is being geolocated to the current surface and geology and geochemistry and will then be interpreted to strengthen both shallow and deep targeting.
—Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
To achieve this commanding new hue, De Bethune’s workshops served as a laboratory of experimentation where particles became luminous, metals emitted visible light, matter oxidized, properties changed, surfaces transformed, and unprecedented natural colors appeared—voila!
—Cait Bazemore, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2024
The windblown ice tends to look blue compared with the surrounding surface snow.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 10 Apr. 2024
Solar prominences, explains NASA, are large, bright loops of plasma anchored to the Sun's surface in the photosphere — the visible surface of the Sun — that extend into the Sun's outer atmosphere.
—John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2024
At the first imaging opportunity, LRO was oriented down 43 degrees from its typical position of looking down at the lunar surface to capture Danuri (streaked across the middle) from 3 miles, or 5 kilometers, above it.
—Stephen Smith, CBS News, 9 Apr. 2024
Adjective
The battery life alone (23 minutes and 30 seconds) makes this one of the best cordless vacuums, but there are some additional unique features that helped this Eureka multi-surface model stand out to us.
—Alida Nugent, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Mar. 2023
In it were tablets containing concentrated hand soap as well as multi-surface, glass and bathroom cleaners — and four empty containers.
—Susan Shain, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2023
The sub was fitted with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes and carried a mix of both anti-surface and anti-submarine weapons.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 23 Dec. 2022
The multi-surface cleaner works with Dyson's signature de-tangling Motorbar cleaner head, a brush bar that safely captures hair and moves it along with no clogged mess.
—Lauren Fischer, Peoplemag, 9 Nov. 2022
Clorox’s multi-surface mist does it all.
—Jodhaira Rodriguez, Good Housekeeping, 16 Aug. 2022
Plus, its dual multi-surface rubber brushes flex to adjust to different floor types and avoid getting tangled with pet hair.
—Stephanie Mlot, PCMAG, 16 Mar. 2023
Besides the citrusy aroma, there’s a lot to love about the eco-friendly subscription service, including the reusable spray bottles—and the fact that just a small spritz of multi-surface, all-purpose cleaner is enough to banish grease from your cooktop.
—Tiffany Hopkins, Bon Appétit, 16 Feb. 2023
Pine-Sol scented multi-surface cleaners (lavender clean, sparkling wave and lemon fresh scents), CloroxPro Pine-Sol all purpose cleaners (lavender clean, sparkling wave, lemon fresh, and orange energy scents) and Clorox Professional Pine-Sol lemon fresh cleaner.
—Jordan Valinsky, CNN, 26 Oct. 2022
Verb
Billie Eilish made a surprise return to Coachella as a special guest during Lana Del Rey’s headlining set on Friday, April 12.
Eilish — who has cited Del Rey as a prominent influence in her own music — surfaced from backstage and joined her idol in a gilded balcony overlooking the main stage.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2024
Photos and videos surfaced this week showing a man parading a live wolf around a Wyoming bar — and the man was fined $250 for the act, reports say.
—Brooke Baitinger, Idaho Statesman, 12 Apr. 2024
Search engines laid some of the groundwork for surfacing accurate responses from large volumes of data, but they are designed with different use cases in mind.
—Sridhar Ramaswamy, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024
But Johnson is hoping an opportunity will surface again in 2025.
—Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2024
The child, then 7 years old, was removed from her mother’s care by Child Protective Services in January 2019 and went to live with her father in Tarrant County after the allegations of medical child abuse surfaced.
—Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
The brood will surface in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 10 Apr. 2024
The longtime homicide detective, who is facing a jury trial on charges of perjury and bribing a witness, helped convict two men of murder who were later set free once the money-for-testimony allegations surfaced.
—David Debolt, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024
Following another one of Wallen's past controversies when a video of himself saying the N-word surfaced online in early 2021, Church spent time with the rising hitmaker by going fishing.
—Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'surface.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to surface
Dictionary Entries Near surface
Cite this Entry
“Surface.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surface. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
surface
1 of 2 noun
sur·face
ˈsər-fəs 
1
: the outside of an object or body
on the surface of the water
the earth's surface
2
: any flat or curved two-dimensional area in space
the surface of a cube
3
: the outside appearance
on the surface the plan seems good
surface
adjective
surface
2 of 2 verb
surfaced; surfacing
1
a
: to make smooth
b
: to apply the surface layer to
surface a road
2
: to bring or come to the surface
3
: to come into public view
letters that recently surfaced
Medical Definition
surface
noun
sur·face
ˈsər-fəs
: the exterior or upper boundary of an object or body
the mesial and distal surfaces of a tooth
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