surges 1 of 2

noun

plural of surge
as in waves
a moving ridge on the surface of water a huge surge nearly capsized the boat and drenched the hapless fishermen

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

surges

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of surge
1
as in gushes

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
2
as in increases

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of surges
Noun
Even though the annual summer and winter COVID surges have been getting milder, last year's flu season was unusually severe. — Rob Stein, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026 The deployment of Border Patrol officers to the interior was unique to the surges, which began in Los Angeles in June, 2025, and the officers had become known for their volatile behavior in urban environments. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026 Johnson did not respond to requests for additional details about the state’s salt procurement issues, but Randolph said his conversations with state officials indicate there are two overarching reasons for the price surges. — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2026 And planning cycles should include scenario modeling for carrier failures, demand surges and inventory shortages. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2026 For New Orleans, the goal is to reduce repeat crash reports during call surges so human call-takers can reach other people waiting for help. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026 Stanislaus County has reported its first human case of West Nile virus for 2026 as the number of cases in California surges compared to recent years. — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 The 119-unit, two-building complex is elevated 10 feet from sea level and is designed to withstand storm surges of up to 20 feet. — Dorany Pineda, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2026 Pyroclastic surges travelled around 25 miles (40 km) across the Sunda Strait. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for surges
  1. waves
  2. gushes
  3. increases
  4. swells
  5. streams
  6. rises
  7. squirts
  8. jumps
Noun
  • Large, destructive waves and life-threatening rip currents are forecast across many Hawaiian shorelines during the next several days.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Finer waves will want to opt for lightweight hydrators over rich formulas that can flatten waves.
    — Madison San Miguel, Allure, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of waves
Verb
  • Meyers, an almost parodic vision of an old soul, gushes praise in unfashionably complete sentences.
    — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Clarkson gushes while the pair — both shedding tears — embrace.
    — Lydia Price, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026
Definition of gushes
Verb
  • Banks are happy to oblige, issuing loans and credit with high interest rates to low-income individuals with questionable credit ratings, which increases the likelihood of loan defaults and bankruptcies.
    — Eric Khant, Sun Sentinel, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Goldman said that its best-case scenario places Brent in the $60-per-barrel range in 2027, but only if oil production in the Persian Gulf increases by 1 million barrels a day above its pre-war levels.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of increases
Noun
  • The storm could generate strong swells for portions of Mexico’s southwestern coast and Baja California through the weekend, and perhaps Southern California, too, according to the hurricane center.
    — Denise Chow, NBC news, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Depending on the exact track of the storm, these swells are likely to increase early next week.
    — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of swells
Verb
  • Afternoon sun streams straight through and heats the room from the inside.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • As starlight streams through the telescope, those actuators subtly reshape the mirrors in real time, correcting for imperfections in the telescope's optics smaller than the width of a strand of DNA.
    — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of streams
Verb
  • This percentage of stellar partnership rises to around 90% of massive stars.
    — Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 Sep. 2026
  • That could be important in neighborhoods where demand rises sharply when residents return home and switch on appliances, heating or cooling systems.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of rises
Verb
  • This matches the only other blue ring in the solar system, namely Saturn's E-ring that is produced by cryovolcanism on Saturn's moon Enceladus, which squirts geysers of water into space.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Block squirts out a capturing of Dreyfuss as a fuzzy-haired neurotic ping-ponging mood changes around the set.
    — Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 10 Mar. 2026
Definition of squirts
Verb
  • Can the linebackers make Year 2 jumps with support in front of them?
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • For a family of four with two working adults and two children, that number jumps to $247,936.
    — Gabby Sartori, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of jumps

Browse Nearby Words

surgeons
surges
surging
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/surges. Accessed 11 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of patina

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All