surface

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The overside or up-side of a flat object such as a table, or of a liquid.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

surfuhs

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈsɝfəs

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

The overside or up-side of a flat object such as a table, or of a liquid.
The outside hull of a tangible object.
figurative
Outward or external appearance.

verb

transitive
To make (information, facts, content, etc) known.
intransitivefigurative
To come out of hiding.
Come to the surface
transitive
To provide with a surface; to apply a surface to.
intransitive
To rise to the surface.
transitive
To bring to the surface.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner (estimated)
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: General English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The overside or up-side of a flat object such as a table, or of a liquid.

Used this way, surface is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use surface

“There is a special cleaner for these surfaces.”noun
“They skimmed over the surface of the water.”noun
“Earthquakes originate far below the surface.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Outer / extended

surface areasurface layer

Other combinations

surface waterupper surfacesurface tensionsurface temperaturefree surfacecell surface

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Inflected forms

Grammatical variations of the same word.

surfacingnounInflected form
Emerging to the surface and becoming apparent.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

surface assimilationnounCompound term
The accumulation of molecules of a gas to form a thin film on the surface of a solid.
surface-assimilativeadjectiveCompound term
Having capacity or tendency to adsorb or cause to accumulate on a surface.
surface chemistrynounCompound term
The branch of chemistry that studies processes occurring at interfaces between phases (especially those between liquid and gas).
surface firenounCompound term
A forest fire that burns only the surface litter and undergrowth.
surface gagenounCompound term
Gauge consisting of a scriber mounted on an adjustable stand.
surface gaugenounCompound term
Gauge consisting of a scriber mounted on an adjustable stand.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

surfactantnounRelated term
A chemical agent capable of reducing the surface tension of a liquid in which it is dissolved.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to make (information or facts or content

graderise up

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.