surf

noun \ ˈsərf \

Updated on: 7 Apr 2018

Definition of surf

1 : the swell of the sea that breaks upon the shore

2 : the foam, splash, and sound of breaking waves

See surf defined for English-language learners

See surf defined for kids

Examples of surf in a Sentence

We could hear the roar of the surf.
beachgoers romping in the swirling surf

Recent Examples of surf from the Web

For Peterson, there's nothing worse than walking out of the surf with anything but first place.

— don riddell, CNN, "Olympic debut will make surfing 'legit,' says US surfer Lakey Peterson," 28 Mar. 2018
Soon enough, everyone is giggling half-naked-to-real naked in the surf.

— refinery29.com, "Vanderpump Rules' Lala Kent Is Reality TV's Most Unexpected Feminist," 27 Mar. 2018
With otter populations rebounding, kelp forests are too, providing a nursery for young fish and a brake on the erosive power of the surf at the near shore.

— lynda v. mapes, The Seattle Times, "From Seattle to Vancouver: See how Rialto the otter, once near death, is thriving," 24 Mar. 2018
March 23, 2018 Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve and Barranquitas, Puerto Rico—Mallory Gibson, a music-business major at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC), has spent her junior-year spring break surrounded by sand, surf, and palm trees.

— whitney eulich, The Christian Science Monitor, "Spring break in Puerto Rico? After María, that means 'rebuild,' not 'relax'," 23 Mar. 2018
Noon Goons Founded 2016 The Tees The core values of Noon Goons are what SoCal is made of: surf, skate, and punk.

— samuel hine, GQ, "These 7 L.A. Brands Are Turning Graphic Tees Into Far-Out High Fashion," 20 Mar. 2018
The crew landed a ship in the rough surf of Disenchantment Bay and transferred hundreds of pounds of gear to the foot of a glacier.

— ned rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "The thin line between Canada and Alaska," 17 Mar. 2018
Pull it on after yoga, before hitting the surf or right after rolling out of bed.

— sophia markoulakis, San Francisco Chronicle, "Five fashionable — and functional — takes on the jumpsuit," 15 Mar. 2018
Nokie Edwards, whose virtuosic electric guitar playing helped define the surf-rock style of the Ventures, the immensely popular instrumental band that rose to prominence in the 1960s, died Monday in Yuma, Ariz.

— richard sandomir, BostonGlobe.com, "Nokie Edwards, 82, whose guitar drove the Ventures," 17 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'surf.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of surf

origin unknown

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1685

See Words from the same year

surf Synonyms

Synonyms

foam, froth, head, lather, spume, suds;

Related Words

mousse;

mist, spindrift, spray;

scum;

Other Oceanography Terms

littoral, sound

surf

verb

Definition of surf

intransitive verb

1 : to ride the surf (as on a surfboard)

2 : to scan a wide range of offerings for something of interest

transitive verb

: to scan the offerings of (such as television or the Internet) for something of interest

—

surfer

noun

See surf defined for English-language learners

Examples of surf in a Sentence

He learned to surf when he was living in California.

Recent Examples of surf from the Web

Features tandem surfing, body-boarding, stand up paddling, kayaking, beach obstacle course, beach games.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "events by county," 28 Mar. 2018
Zoe Fuhr started a fashion line and Samantha Lankester worked and surfed on a nearby island community.

— gary graff, Billboard, "Frankiie Ponders Death on Return Single 'Glory Me': Video Premiere," 6 Mar. 2018
Zoe's first full collection, inspired by ’60s surfing culture, the anti–Vietnam War movement and Shigeko Kubota's videos, is dropping this spring.

— samuel hine, GQ, "These 7 L.A. Brands Are Turning Graphic Tees Into Far-Out High Fashion," 20 Mar. 2018
Never let it be said that Huntington Beach High surfing coach Andy Verdone isn't willing to pull out all the stops when trying to get his team to the top.

— joe haakenson, latimes.com, "Huntington Beach takes second at state surfing championships," 11 Mar. 2018
Four new sports meant to draw a younger audience are surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and karate.

— NBC News, "Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics: Everything you need to know," 24 Feb. 2018
Pressure is so overwhelming that Cansiani and other engineers decompress by becoming immersed in extreme sports that include surfing on the Great Lakes in below-freezing temperatures.

— phoebe wall howard, Detroit Free Press, "GM engineer finds escape from self-driving projects in extreme sports," 3 Jan. 2018
Several of the world’s most heralded big-wave riders decided not to surf that day, but Valenti, 32, was determined.

— bruce jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, "The Mavericks surf contest: Maybe next year," 26 Feb. 2018
Just watched Netflix, surfed around on the computer, things like that.

— gary d'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Erin Jackson could be the next face of U.S. speedskating," 19 Feb. 2018

First Known Use of surf

1917

SURF Defined for English Language Learners

surf

noun

Definition of surf for English Language Learners

: large waves that fall on the shore and the white foam and sound that they produce

surf

verb

Definition of surf for English Language Learners

: to ride on ocean waves using a special board (called a surfboard)
: to look for information or other interesting things on the Internet

SURF Defined for Kids

surf

noun \ ˈsərf \

Definition of surf for Students

1 : the waves of the sea that splash on the shore

2 : the sound, splash, and foam of breaking waves

surf

verb

Definition of surf for Students

surfed; surfing

1 : to ride the incoming waves of the sea (as on a surfboard)

2 : to scan a wide range of offerings (as on television or the Internet) for something that is interesting or fills a need

Learn More about surf

See words that rhyme with surf Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for surf Spanish Central: Translation of surf Nglish: Translation of surf for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of surf for Arabic speakers

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surf

Definition of surf

Examples of surf in a Sentence

Recent Examples of surf from the Web

Origin and Etymology of surf

surf Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Oceanography Terms

surf

Definition of surf

surfer

Examples of surf in a Sentence

Recent Examples of surf from the Web

First Known Use of surf

SURF Defined for English Language Learners

surf

Definition of surf for English Language Learners

surf

Definition of surf for English Language Learners

SURF Defined for Kids

surf

Definition of surf for Students

surf

Definition of surf for Students

Learn More about surf

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