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sur·round | \ sə-ˈrau̇nd 
\
\surrounded; surrounding; surrounds
Definition of surround
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a(1) : to enclose on all sides : envelop the crowd surrounded her
(2) : to enclose so as to cut off communication or retreat : invest entry 2
b : to form or be a member of the entourage of
flatterers who surround the king
c : to constitute part of the environment of
surrounded by poverty
d : to extend around the margin or edge of : encircle a wall surrounds the old city
2 : to cause to be surrounded by something
surrounded himself with friends
surround
nounDefinition of surround (Entry 2 of 2)
: something (such as a border or ambient environment) that surrounds from urban centre to rural surround— Emrys Jones
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Synonyms for surround
Synonyms: Verb
- circle,
- compass,
- embrace,
- encircle,
- enclose
- (also inclose),
- encompass,
- environ,
- gird,
- girdle,
- ring,
- wreathe
Synonyms: Noun
- ambient,
- atmosphere,
- climate,
- clime,
- context,
- contexture,
- environment,
- environs,
- medium,
- milieu,
- mise-en-scène,
- setting,
- surroundings,
- terrain
Examples of surround in a Sentence
Verb
A wall surrounds the old city.
They had the suspect surrounded.
She was suddenly surrounded by a crowd of excited fans.
There's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the decision.
His departure was surrounded by secrecy. Noun
the vast, featureless surround of the desert was strangely appealing to him
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Love should have been informed privately, not when he was surrounded by a handful of others in the trainer’s room.
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Chris Fedor, cleveland, "Cleveland Cavaliers’ season of self-inflicted wounds continues in collapse against Chicago," 19 Jan. 2020 One man who refused to be searched retreated into a public restroom that was promptly surrounded by riot police.
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Carol Mang, BostonGlobe.com, "Thousands-strong Hong Kong protest cut short by clashes," 19 Jan. 2020 Although the photos on the glossy paper are surrounded by articles, commentary, and captions, those on the matte paper have none.
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Luke Mogelson, The New Yorker, "“Relentless Absurdity”: An Army Photographer’s Censored Images," 19 Jan. 2020 One man who refused to be searched retreated into a public restroom that was promptly surrounded by riot police.
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Washington Post, "Thousands-strong Hong Kong protest cut short by clashes," 19 Jan. 2020 The Michigan Advance reported on a Tuesday exchange between Lucido and Donahue outside the Senate chamber when he was surrounded by male students from his alma mater, De La Salle Collegiate, a Catholic high school in Warren.
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Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, "Sen. Lucido doesn't discuss reporter exchange, cites fact-finding process," 17 Jan. 2020 The formal living and dining room is surrounded by stunning city views and the eat-in chef’s kitchen has everything for the serious cook.
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Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, "SEE IT: Jennifer Lawrence’s $12 million Manhattan penthouse is for sale. And it's amazing.," 14 Jan. 2020 Ultimately, scientists realized that our sun was once likely surrounded by a disk, much in the same way as other young star systems that have been observed.
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Ashley Strickland, CNN, "'Great Divide' that impacted life on Earth found in our solar system," 14 Jan. 2020 His final moments were captured on video, showing him to be surrounded by a mob of rebels.
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Savannah Behrmann, USA TODAY, "White House spokesman criticized after claiming Obama killed Muammar al-Gaddafi," 10 Jan. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun These titles involve little more than traveling from one point to another, sometimes interacting with the occasional object while leisurely taking in the surrounds.
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James O'sullivan, Quartzy, "Video games have become a new form of literature," 10 Dec. 2019 Automatic Parking Assistant Plus with surround-view cameras with 3-D view and Active Park Distance Control helps maneuver into either parallel or perpendicular parking spaces, controlling acceleration, braking, steering and gearing.
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Emma Jayne Williams, chicagotribune.com, "BMW updates the 7-Series sedan line for 2020; plug-in hybrid model added," 3 Dec. 2019 To the left of the foyer, the front-to-back living room offers crown molding and a working fireplace with a white wooden mantel and a brick surround.
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John Ellement, Boston.com Real Estate, "Home of the Week: The Marshall Act was passed the year this house was built. It doesn’t look it.," 31 Oct. 2019 The surround-view system now uses a more powerful graphics processing unit to replicate the terrain around the vehicle and allows users to quickly spin the view around.
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Wired, "The Land Rover Defender Is Back—With a Softer, Smarter Look," 12 Sep. 2019 An executive office to the right of the foyer has a glass French door entry and is also anchored by a fireplace with a sandstone surround that reaches the ceiling.
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Monica Lander, The Mercury News, "Sponsored: Danville estate makes the most of its amazing views of Mount Diablo," 18 Sep. 2019 The smaller bedroom has a linear closet, and the second bath has a tub with shower with marbled porcelain surround.
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Pamela Dittmer Mckuen, chicagotribune.com, "West Loop’s 727 West Madison apartments play up elliptical design," 20 Aug. 2019 The air quality dropped to hazardous levels in many areas of Sydney and the surrounds area today, according to CNN affiliate Nine News Network.
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Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN, "Sydney smoke: Before and after photos show impact of bushfire on Australian city," 6 Dec. 2019 Netflix brought in a digital media firm to outfit the space with surround-sound systems in the theater’s three levels, a projection booth (with two projectors) behind the orchestra seating and an 18-by-32-foot screen.
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Nancy Coleman, New York Times, "‘The Irishman’ on Broadway: Phone Booths, Broadsheets and Jimmy Hoffa Stickers," 4 Nov. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'surround.' 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 surround
surround
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of surround
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to be on every side of (someone or something)
: to move close to (someone or something) on all sides often in order to stop a person from escaping
: to be closely related or connected to (something)
surround
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of surround (Entry 2 of 2)
: a border or an area that is around the outside edge of something
See the full definition for surround in the English Language Learners Dictionary
surround
verbsur·round | \ sə-ˈrau̇nd \
\surrounded; surrounding
Kids Definition of surround
1 : to enclose on all sides : encircle A fence surrounds the property.
2 : to be closely related or connected to
… my actions will help to dispel this terrible myth of evil that seems to surround rats everywhere.— Kate DiCamillo, The Tale of Despereaux
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Comments on surround
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Time Traveler for surround
The first known use of surround was circa 1616
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