surmount

[ ser-mount ]
See synonyms for: surmountsurmountedsurmountingsurmountable on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to mount upon; get on the top of; mount upon and cross over: to surmount a hill.

  2. to get over or across (barriers, obstacles, etc.).

  1. to prevail over: to surmount tremendous difficulties.

  2. to be on top of or above: a statue surmounting a pillar.

  3. to furnish with something placed on top or above: to surmount a tower with a spire.

  4. Obsolete.

    • to surpass in excellence.

    • to exceed in amount.

Origin of surmount

1
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Anglo-French sormonter, surmounter, Old French sor(e)monter, s(o)urmonter; see sur-1, mount1

Other words from surmount

  • sur·mount·a·ble [ser-moun-tuh-buhl], /sərˈmaʊn tə bəl/, adjective
  • sur·mount·er, noun
  • un·sur·mount·ed, adjective

Words Nearby surmount

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use surmount in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for surmount

surmount

/ (sɜːˈmaʊnt) /


verb(tr)
  1. to prevail over; overcome: to surmount tremendous difficulties

  2. to ascend and cross to the opposite side of

  1. to lie on top of or rise above

  2. to put something on top of or above

  3. obsolete to surpass or exceed

Origin of surmount

1
C14: from Old French surmonter, from sur- 1 + monter to mount 1

Derived forms of surmount

  • surmountable, adjective
  • surmountableness, noun
  • surmounter, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012