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surf - 7 dictionary results
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surf

  [surf]
Use surf in a Sentence
–noun
1. the swell of the sea that breaks upon a shore or upon shoals.
2. the mass or line of foamy water caused by the breaking of the sea upon a shore, esp. a shallow or sloping shore.
–verb (used without object)
3. to ride a surfboard.
4. to float on the crest of a wave toward shore.
5. to swim, play, or bathe in the surf.
6. to search haphazardly, as for information on a computer network or an interesting program on television.
–verb (used with object)
7. to ride a surfboard on: We surfed every big wave in sight.
8. to search through (a computer network or TV channels) for information or entertainment.
Origin:
1675–85; earlier suff; of uncert. orig.

Related forms:
surf⋅a⋅ble, adjective
surfer, noun
surflike, adjective

Synonyms:
1. See wave.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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They really CAN sing
 Check out Witches In Bikinis' CD "Scary Kind of Love" - rel.Aug 2008
 www.cdbaby.com/all/wib
surf   (sûrf)   
n.  The waves of the sea as they break upon a shore or reef.
v.   surfed, surf·ing, surfs

v.   intr.
  1. To engage in surfing.
  2. Informal To look at a variety of things casually, especially while browsing the Internet or television channels.
v.   tr.
    1. To ride on or along (a wave) on a surfboard.
    2. To engage in surfing at: had never surfed Malibu Beach.
  2. Informal To browse (the Internet or television channels, for example).

[Origin unknown.]
surf'y adj.
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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Surf

Surf\, n. [Formerly spelled suffe, and probably the same word as E. sough.] The swell of the sea which breaks upon the shore, esp. upon a sloping beach.

Surf bird (Zo["o]l.), a ploverlike bird of the genus Aphriza, allied to the turnstone.

Surf clam (Zo["o]l.), a large clam living on the open coast, especially Mactra, or Spisula, solidissima. See Mactra.

Surf duck (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of sea ducks of the genus Oidemia, especially O. percpicillata; -- called also surf scoter. See the Note under Scoter.

Surf fish (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of California embiotocoid fishes. See Embiotocoid.

Surf smelt. (Zo["o]l.) See Smelt.

Surf whiting. (Zo["o]l.) See under Whiting.

Surf

Surf\, n. The bottom of a drain. [Prov. Eng.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : surf
Spanish: espuma,
German: die Brandung,
Japanese: 寄せ波
More Translations »

surf

v. [from the `surf' idiom for rapidly flipping TV channels] To traverse the Internet in search of interesting stuff, used esp. if one is doing so with a World Wide Web browser. It is also common to speak of `surfing in' to a particular resource.

Hackers adopted this term early, but many have stopped using it since it went completely mainstream around 1995. The passive, couch-potato connotations that go with TV channel surfing were never pleasant, and hearing non-hackers wax enthusiastic about "surfing the net" tends to make hackers feel a bit as though their home is being overrun by ignorami.
Jargon File 4.2.0
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surf  (n.)
1685, probably from earlier suffe (1599), of uncertain origin. Originally used in reference to the coast of India, hence perhaps of Indic origin. Or perhaps a phonetic respelling of sough, which meant "a rushing sound." The verb meaning "ride the crest of a wave" is from 1917; surfer, surfing both from 1955. In the Internet sense, first recorded 1993.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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surf   (sûrf)  Pronunciation Key 
The waves of the sea as they break upon a shore or a reef.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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 www.windsurfing-direct.com
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 Waterproof MP3 Players For Surfers, The Web's Most Popular Swim Shop!
 www.SwimOutlet.com