View synonyms for surface

surface

[ sur-fis ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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.

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.

, sur·faced, sur·fac·ing.

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.

, sur·faced, sur·fac·ing.

surface

/ ˈsɜːfɪs /

1. the exterior face of an object or one such face
2. ( as modifier )
  surface gloss
1. the area or size of such a face
2. ( as modifier )
  surface measurements
material resembling such a face, with length and width but without depth
1. the superficial appearance as opposed to the real nature
2. ( as modifier )
  a surface resemblance
geometry
1. the complete boundary of a solid figure
2. a continuous two-dimensional configuration
1. the uppermost level of the land or sea
2. ( as modifier )
  surface transportation
come to the surface
to emerge; become apparent
on the surface
to all appearances

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
1. to work at or near the ground surface
2. to wash surface ore deposits
intr to become apparent; emerge
informal.
intr
1. to wake up
2. to get up

Origin of surface¹

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

Origin of surface¹

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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