surrounding

[ suh-roun-ding ]
/ səˈraʊn dɪŋ /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR surrounding ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that surrounds.
surroundings, environing things, circumstances, conditions, etc.; environment: He was too sick to be aware of his surroundings.
the act of encircling or enclosing.

adjective

enclosing or encircling.
being the environment or adjacent area.

Origin of surrounding

1400–50; late Middle English: inundation; see surround, -ing1, -ing2

Words nearby surrounding

surrogate, surrogate mother, surround, surround sound, surround theater, surrounding, surroundings, sursum corda, sursumduction, sursumvergence, sursumversion

Definition for surrounding (2 of 2)

surround
[ suh-round ]
/ səˈraʊnd /

verb (used with object)

to enclose on all sides; encompass: She was surrounded by reporters.
to form an enclosure round; encircle: A stone wall surrounds the estate.
to enclose (a body of troops, a fort or town, etc.) so as to cut off communication or retreat.

noun

something that surrounds, as the area, border, etc., around an object or central space: a tile surround for the shower stall.
environment or setting: The designer created a Persian surround for the new restaurant.
Hunting.
  1. a means of hunting in which wild animals are encircled and chased into a special spot that makes their escape impossible.
  2. the act of hunting by this means.
  3. the location encircled by hunters using this means.

Origin of surround

1400–50; late Middle English surounden to inundate, submerge < Anglo-French surounder, Middle French s(o)ronder < Late Latin superundāre to overflow, equivalent to Latin super- super- + undāre to flood, derivative of unda wave (see undulate); current spelling by analysis as sur-1 + round1 (v.)

OTHER WORDS FROM surround

pre·sur·round, verb (used with object) un·sur·round·ed, adjective

Words related to surrounding

neighboring, encompassing, around, circumambient, circumferential

Example sentences from the Web for surrounding

British Dictionary definitions for surrounding

surround
/ (səˈraʊnd) /

verb (tr)

to encircle or enclose or cause to be encircled or enclosed
to deploy forces on all sides of (a place or military formation), so preventing access or retreat
to exist around I dislike the people who surround her

noun

mainly British a border, esp the area of uncovered floor between the walls of a room and the carpet or around an opening or panel
mainly US
  1. a method of capturing wild beasts by encircling the area in which they are believed to be
  2. the area so encircled

Derived forms of surround

surrounding, adjective

Word Origin for surround

C15 surrounden to overflow, from Old French suronder, from Late Latin superundāre, from Latin super- + undāre to abound, from unda a wave