surround

B1 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /səˈɹaʊnd/ See IPA manual

noun verb Freq #9111

Meanings

1

verb
To be all around something or someone on every side.

Tall trees surround the house.
2

verb
To move around something or someone so that they cannot escape.

Police surrounded the building within minutes.
3

noun
A border or frame placed around something.

The fireplace had a beautiful brick surround.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to be all around something... ring

2 verb · to move around something or... besiegehem in

More bebay beset embedensphereenviron

Word family

Forms surroundedsurrounds

Derived forms surrounder

Etymology

From Middle English sourrounden (“to submerge, overflow”), from Middle French souronder, suronder, from Late Latin superundō, from super + undō (“to rise in waves”), from unda (“wave”).

*wed- Proto-Indo-European sourrounden Middle English souronder Middle French superundō la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

# surround

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** səˈɹaʊnd
**Frequency rank:** 9111

## Meanings
1. To be all around something or someone on every side.
2. To move around something or someone so that they cannot escape.
3. A border or frame placed around something.

## Examples
- Tall trees surround the house.
- Police surrounded the building within minutes.
- The fireplace had a beautiful brick surround.

## Synonyms
- bebay
- beset
- embed
- ensphere
- environ

## Derived Forms
- surrounder

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *wed-
- Root: sourrounden
- Root: souronder
- Root: superundō

## Etymology
From Middle English sourrounden (“to submerge, overflow”), from Middle French souronder, suronder, from Late Latin superundō, from super + undō (“to rise in waves”), from unda (“wave”).

## AI Etymology
Surround is from Middle English sourrounden (“to submerge, overflow”), from Middle French souronder, suronder, from Late Latin superundō, from super + undō (“to rise in waves”), from unda (“wave”). In present-day use, it can mean to be all around something or someone on every side, or to move around something or someone so that they cannot escape. Derived formations include surrounder.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

markdown

surround

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback