surrender

verb

sur·ren·der | \ sə-ˈren-dər

surrendered; surrendering\ sə-ˈren-d(ə-)riŋ

Definition of surrender

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to yield to the power, control, or possession of another upon compulsion or demand surrendered the fort

b : to give up completely or agree to forgo especially in favor of another

2a : to give (oneself) up into the power of another especially as a prisoner

b : to give (oneself) over to something (such as an influence)

intransitive verb

: to give oneself up into the power of another : yield

surrender

noun

Definition of surrender (Entry 2 of 2)

1a : the action of yielding one's person or giving up the possession of something especially into the power of another

b : the relinquishment by a patentee of rights or claims under a patent

c : the delivery of a principal into lawful custody by bail

— called also surrender by bail

d : the voluntary cancellation of the legal liability of an insurance company by the insured and beneficiary for a consideration

e : the delivery of a fugitive from justice by one government to another

2 : an instance of surrendering

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Choose the Right Synonym for surrender

Verb

relinquish, yield, resign, surrender, abandon, waive mean to give up completely. relinquish usually does not imply strong feeling but may suggest some regret, reluctance, or weakness. relinquished her crown yield implies concession or compliance or submission to force. the troops yielded ground grudgingly resign emphasizes voluntary relinquishment or sacrifice without struggle. resigned her position surrender implies a giving up after a struggle to retain or resist. surrendered their claims abandon stresses finality and completeness in giving up. abandoned all hope waive implies conceding or forgoing with little or no compulsion. waived the right to a trial by jury

Examples of surrender in a Sentence

Verb

The enemy finally surrendered after three days of fighting. The gunman surrendered and was taken into custody. The troops were forced to surrender the fort. They were required to surrender their passports. the surrendering of land to the government He refused to surrender to despair. He refused to surrender himself to despair.

Noun

Their surrender was formalized in a treaty. They demanded an unconditional surrender.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Still, having a full complement of players didn’t pay off for the Raptors, who surrendered 18 points on 13 turnovers. — Ian Harrison, The Seattle Times, "Lamb hits winning 3, Hornets down Raptors 115-114," 24 Mar. 2019 As support in his own party began to splinter, Trump surrendered after the shutdown hit 35 days, agreeing to the current temporary reopening without getting money for the wall. — Andrew Taylor, The Seattle Times, "Congressional lawmakers reach deal on border wall funding," 11 Feb. 2019 The lawsuit was sparked by an incident last week in a post-election press conference with Mr. Trump when Mr. Acosta initially refused to surrender his microphone during a testy exchange. — Byron Tau, WSJ, "Judge Grants CNN’s Motion to Restore Jim Acosta’s White House Press Pass," 16 Nov. 2018 Last week, Cline surrendered his medical license to the Indiana Medical Licensing board, which also barred the 79-year-old from ever applying for a license again in the state. — Beth Mole, Ars Technica, "Fertility doc inseminated dozens of women with own sperm, DNA sites find," 31 Aug. 2018 The suspect ultimately surrendered, where he was apprehended by LAPD officers. — De Elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "A 3-Hour Hostage Situation at Trader Joe's Ended With One Person Killed," 22 July 2018 When the man refused to surrender, a K-9 ran in and pulled him from the bushes by his legs, Hampton said. — Benjy Egel, sacbee, "K-9 drags car thief out of bush after chase in Arden Arcade, deputies say," 12 July 2018 Mencia surrendered his Florida medical license and his DEA license to prescribe drugs after his arrest. — Susannah Bryan, Sun-Sentinel.com, "'Pill mill' doc who prescribed 1.2 million doses of opioids found guilty," 1 July 2018 Dupuis surrendered just one hit in three innings of work, while striking out five. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Deer Park Mustang all-stars clinch berth to Coast Region the hard way," 30 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

That could include a type of warning letter, civil penalties, a voluntary surrender of license or continued education, Gandhi said. — Melissa Daniels, The Seattle Times, "Pharmacist denies woman miscarriage drug on moral grounds," 26 June 2018 On Wednesday, several hundred of the last civilians trapped by Islamic State left, suggesting the extremist group was near a surrender. — Dion Nissenbaum, WSJ, "Trump Shifts Course to Keep 200 Troops in Syria," 22 Feb. 2019 The last balloon left Paris on January 28, 1871, the day of the armistice that led to France's surrender to German forces. — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, "The First Anti-Aircraft Gun Was a Big Cannon Designed to Pop Balloons," 13 June 2016 The summits Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev held in the 1980s looked in retrospect like surrender talks between an ascendant America and a broken rival. — The Economist, "The Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki," 5 July 2018 It was unveiled in 2014 for the 300th anniversary of September 11, 1714, a day known as Catalonia Day, or La Diada, which commemorates Catalan surrender in the War of Spanish Succession. — Gemma Askham, Condé Nast Traveler, "20 Best Things to Do in Barcelona," 3 Mar. 2018 Reinforcing this one-term assumption is the remarkable number of Republicans who will not commit to supporting Trump’s reelection, despite the GOP’s largely supine surrender to his takeover of their party. — Ed Kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "History Says Trump Has a Difficult But Traversable Path to Reelection," 19 Apr. 2018 Antigovernment activists and a conflict monitor said that the government had not yet driven rebels from the entire city, but that talks were taking place over a surrender deal that would leave the whole city in government hands. — New York Times, "Netanyahu Says Putin Agreed to Restrain Iran in Syria," 12 July 2018 Russia has supported army advances with airstrikes since entering the war in 2015 and has played a role in mediating surrender deals. — NBC News, "Humanitarian crisis escalates with regime airstrikes in southern Syria," 30 June 2018

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

History and Etymology for surrender

Verb

Middle English surrendren, from surrendre, noun

Noun

Middle English surrendre, from Anglo-French, from surrendre, susrendre to relinquish, from sur- & sus-, suz under + rendre to give back — more at render, sous

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Last Updated

8 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for surrender

The first known use of surrender was in the 15th century

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More Definitions for surrender

surrender

verb

English Language Learners Definition of surrender

(Entry 1 of 2)

: to agree to stop fighting, hiding, resisting, etc., because you know that you will not win or succeed

: to give the control or use of (something) to someone else

: to allow something (such as a habit or desire) to influence or control you

surrender

noun

English Language Learners Definition of surrender (Entry 2 of 2)

: an agreement to stop fighting, hiding, resisting, etc., because you know that you will not win or succeed : an act of surrendering

: the act of giving the control or use of something to someone else

: the act of allowing yourself to be influenced or controlled by someone or something

See the full definition for surrender in the English Language Learners Dictionary

surrender

verb

sur·ren·der | \ sə-ˈren-dər

surrendered; surrendering

Kids Definition of surrender

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : to give up after a struggle The soldiers surrendered. We'll never surrender the fort.

2 : to let go of : relinquish We surrendered our place in line.

surrender

noun

Kids Definition of surrender (Entry 2 of 2)

1 : the act of giving up after a struggle

2 : the act of giving something over to the possession or control of someone else

surrender

transitive verb

sur·ren·der

Legal Definition of surrender

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : to yield to the control or possession of another surrender the leased premises surrender collateral to a creditor

b : to give up completely or agree to forgo

c : to cancel (one's insurance policy) voluntarily

2 : to give over to the custody of the law surrender a defendant

intransitive verb

: to give oneself up

surrender

noun

Legal Definition of surrender (Entry 2 of 2)

: an act or instance of surrendering discharge an obligor by surrender of a promissory note especially : the yielding of an estate by a tenant to the landlord so that the leasehold interest is extinguished by mutual agreement