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Surrounding - 5 dictionary results

sur⋅round⋅ing

  [suh-roun-ding]
Use Surrounding in a Sentence
–noun
1. something that surrounds.
2. surroundings, environing things, circumstances, conditions, etc.; environment: He was too sick to be aware of his surroundings.
3. the act of encircling or enclosing.
–adjective
4. enclosing or encircling.
5. being the environment or adjacent area.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME: inundation; see surround, -ing 1 , -ing 2

Synonyms:
2. See environment.

sur⋅round

  [suh-round]
–verb (used with object)
1. to enclose on all sides; encompass: She was surrounded by reporters.
2. to form an enclosure round; 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
4. something that surrounds, as the area, border, etc., around an object or central space: a tile surround for the shower stall.
5. environment or setting: The designer created a Persian surround for the new restaurant.
6. Hunting.
a. a means of hunting in which wild animals are encircled and chased into a special spot that makes their escape impossible.
b. the act of hunting by this means.
c. the location encircled by hunters using this means.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME surounden to inundate, submerge < AF surounder, MF s(o)ronder < LL superundāre to overflow, equiv. to L super- super- + undāre to flood, deriv. of unda wave (see undulate ); current sp. by analysis as sur- 1 + round 1 (v.)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Surrounding
sur·round   (sə-round')   
tr.v.   sur·round·ed, sur·round·ing, sur·rounds
  1. To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle.
  2. To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication.
n.  
  1. Something, such as fencing or a border, that surrounds: a fireplace surround.
    1. The area around a thing or place: inflammation extending to the surround of the eye.
    2. Surroundings; environment: "It was the country, the flat agricultural surround, that so ravished me" (Listener).
  3. A method of hunting wild animals by surrounding them and driving them to a place from which they cannot escape.

[Middle English surrounden, to inundate, from Old French suronder, from Late Latin superundāre : Latin super-, super- + Latin undāre, to rise in waves (from unda, wave; see wed-1 in Indo-European roots).]
Synonyms: These verbs mean to lie around and bound on all sides: Suburbs surround the city. A crown circled the king's head. Fog compassed the mountain peak. A belt encircled her waist. A lake encompassed the island. The desert environed the oases. A deep moat girds the castle. Flower gardens girdled the bird bath. Guests ringed the coffee table.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Surrounding

Sur*round"ing\, a. Inclosing; encircling.

Surrounding

Sur*round"ing\, n. 1. An encompassing.

2. pl. The things which surround or environ; external or attending circumstances or conditions.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Surrounding
Spanish: circundante,
German: umbegend,
Japanese: まわりの
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