surrender
verb
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Definition of surrender
(Entry 1 of 2)
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)
: to give oneself up into the power of another : yield
surrender
nounDefinition 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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Synonyms & Antonyms for surrender
Synonyms: Verb
bow, cave (in), give in, submit, succumb, yield
Synonyms: Noun
capitulating, capitulation, cession, handover, relinquishment, rendition, submission, submitting
Antonyms: Verb
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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
The Washington Post on Saturday cited unnamed U.S. intelligence officials as concluding that North Korea does not intend to fully surrender its nuclear stockpile. — Deb Riechmann And Matthew Pennington, Fox News, "Experts see risks in US plan to dismantle NKorea's nukes," 4 July 2018 The Washington Post on Saturday cited unnamed U.S. intelligence officials as concluding that North Korea does not intend to fully surrender its nuclear stockpile. — Deb Riechmann, The Seattle Times, "Experts see risks in US plan to dismantle NKorea’s nukes," 2 July 2018 The Washington Post on Saturday cited unnamed US intelligence officials as concluding that North Korea does not intend to fully surrender its nuclear stockpile. — Matthew Pennington And Lolita C. Baldor, The Christian Science Monitor, "US wants North Korea denuclearized in a year, but concerns remain," 2 July 2018 Harden, contacted by phone, talked to police negotiators for an hour before surrendering, police said. — Linda Girardi, Aurora Beacon-News, "2 Aurora men charged after argument, shooting: police," 23 June 2018 Ultimately, Holm surrendered to police before midnight, at which point the department’s Facebook page told people the situation was under control. — Frank Abderholden, Lake County News-Sun, "Two in custody after barricade incident in Wauconda," 19 June 2018 My willingness to try surrendered to the all-powerful human urge to avoid humiliation. — Jay Willis, GQ, "Adult Swam: The Joy of Finally Learning How to Swim," 1 June 2018 The Cavs surrendered this one early despite having five days off since sweeping Toronto. — Bill Livingston, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Cavaliers suffer Boston massacre on Mother's Day -- Bill Livingston (photos)," 13 May 2018 Dexter was surrendered because his guardian experienced a change in her financial situation and health and couldn’t care for him any longer. — idahostatesman, "Meridian Pet of the Week: Dexter | Idaho Statesman," 7 May 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Her Swipe lip colors ($24) and rouges ($26) are embossed with fingerprints: coaxing Generation Snapchat into relaxed face painting, and suggestive of its casual surrender of personal data. — New York Times, "Linda Wells Shows Flesh: Woke Makeup for Revlon," 21 June 2018 One such revelation took place three days prior to the Germans’ surrender, when U.S. Army soldiers stumbled upon the Gunskirchen Concentration Camp, a sub-camp of the death camp Mauthausen. — Olivia B. Waxman, Time, "'We Weren't Prepared for This.' Inside the Accidental Liberation of a Concentration Camp," 26 Jan. 2018 It could be viewed as a surrender, a sign that he’s given up trying to match the might of digital companies that are able to pay top dollar to churn out television series, movies and comedy specials like candy. — Sarah Ellison, Philly.com, "Rupert Murdoch: The media mogul says goodbye to much of the company he built," 2 July 2018 The Margol brothers continued their service after Germany’s surrender in May 1945, guarding Nazi officers in Salzburg, Austria. — Fleming Smith, ajc, "World War II veteran, 94, shares his story in Holocaust museum exhibit," 28 June 2018 Rebels who were holding out agreed to a surrender and evacuation deal in the immediate wake of the attack. — Thomas Grove, WSJ, "Syrian Government Nears Control of Enclave Hit by Suspected Chemical Attack," 12 Apr. 2018 The ‘bark orders, impose punishments, and bully friends and enemies into surrender to the mighty, imperial me’ approach to foreign policy is unlikely enough to work even when applied to relatively weak states like North Korea and Iran. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: Trump’s go-it-alone approach to foreign policy angers allies, benefits adversaries," 25 May 2018 Rathika held out for two weeks before surrendering to the Tigers, only months before their own surrender in the spring of 2009. — Longreads, "A Chance to Rewrite History: The Women Fighters of the Tamil Tigers," 22 May 2018 Officers made contact with the suspect, who was armed with a handgun and attempted to negotiate his peaceful surrender. — Mark Price, charlotteobserver, "NC police shoot man holding Harris Teeter staff hostage during standoff," 13 July 2018These 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.
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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
nounEnglish 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
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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
nounKids 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 verbLegal 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
: to give oneself up
surrender
nounLegal 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
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