Definitions for surface
ˈsɜr fɪssur·face

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:4.0 / 6 votes

1. surfacenoun

   the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary

   "there is a special cleaner for these surfaces"; "the cloth had a pattern of red dots on a white surface"

2. surfacenoun

   the extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object

   "they skimmed over the surface of the water"; "a brush small enough to clean every dental surface"; "the sun has no distinct surface"

3. surface, Earth's surfacenoun

   the outermost level of the land or sea

   "earthquakes originate far below the surface"; "three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water"

4. surfacenoun

   a superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something

   "it was not what it appeared to be on the surface"

5. open, surfacenoun

   information that has become public

   "all the reports were out in the open"; "the facts had been brought to the surface"

6. airfoil, aerofoil, control surface, surfaceadjective

   a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flight

7. surfaceverb

   on the surface

   "surface materials of the moon"

8. surface, come up, rise up, riseverb

   come to the surface

9. coat, surfaceverb

   put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface

   "coat the cake with chocolate"

10. come on, come out, turn up, surface, show upverb

    appear or become visible; make a showing

    "She turned up at the funeral"; "I hope the list key is going to surface again"

GCIDERate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote

1. Surfaceverb

   To rise from the depths of a liquid to the surface; as, the submarine surfaced to recharge its batteries.

2. Surfaceverb

   To become known or public; -- said of information.

3. Surfaceverb

   To show up, as a person who was in hiding; as, he absconded with the payroll and surfaced in Argentina.

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.3 / 3 votes

1. surfacenoun

   The up-side of a flat object such as a table, or of a liquid.

2. surfacenoun

   The outside hull of a tangible object.

3. surfacenoun

   The locus of an equation (especially one with exactly two degrees of freedom) in a more-than-two-dimensional space.

4. surfaceverb

   To provide something with a surface.

5. surfaceverb

   To apply a surface to something.

6. surfaceverb

   To rise to the surface.

7. surfaceverb

   To come out of hiding.

8. surfaceverb

   For information or facts to become known.

9. surfaceverb

   To work a mine near the surface.

10. surfaceverb

    To appear or be found.

Samuel Johnson's DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Surfacenoun

   Superficies; outside; superfice. It is accented by John Milton on the last syllable.

   Etymology: sur and face, French.

   Which of us who beholds the bright surface
   Of this ethereous mold, whereon we stand. John Milton.

   All their surfaces shall be truly plain, or truly spherical, and look all the same way, so as together to compose one even surface. Isaac Newton, Opt.

   Errours like straws upon the surface flow;
   He who would search for pearls must dive below. Dryden.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Surface

   A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is the portion with which other materials first interact. The surface of an object is more than "a mere geometric solid", but is "filled with, spread over by, or suffused with perceivable qualities such as color and warmth".The concept of surface has been abstracted and formalized in mathematics, specifically in geometry. Depending on the properties on which the emphasis is given, there are several non equivalent such formalizations, that are all called surface, sometimes with some qualifier, such as algebraic surface, smooth surface or fractal surface. The concept of surface and its mathematical abstraction are both widely used in physics, engineering, computer graphics, and many other disciplines, primarily in representing the surfaces of physical objects. For example, in analyzing the aerodynamic properties of an airplane, the central consideration is the flow of air along its surface. The concept also raises certain philosophical questions—for example, how thick is the layer of atoms or molecules that can be considered part of the surface of an object (i.e., where does the "surface" end and the "interior" begin), and do objects really have a surface at all if, at the subatomic level, they never actually come in contact with other objects.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. surface

   A surface refers to the external part or layer of something often perceived through the sense of touch, or the outer face, outside, or exterior boundary of an object or entity. It can also refer to the outermost covering or uppermost layer of a particular matter, or the visible top layer of something. Additionally, it can also refer to the extent or expanse of an object's outer face. In mathematics, a surface refers to a continuous two-dimensional figure that extends in all spatial directions.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Surfacenoun

   the exterior part of anything that has length and breadth; one of the limits that bound a solid, esp. the upper face; superficies; the outside; as, the surface of the earth; the surface of a diamond; the surface of the body

2. Surfacenoun

   hence, outward or external appearance

3. Surfacenoun

   a magnitude that has length and breadth without thickness; superficies; as, a plane surface; a spherical surface

4. Surfacenoun

   that part of the side which is terminated by the flank prolonged, and the angle of the nearest bastion

5. Surfaceverb

   to give a surface to; especially, to cause to have a smooth or plain surface; to make smooth or plain

6. Surfaceverb

   to work over the surface or soil of, as ground, in hunting for gold

7. Etymology: [F. See Sur-, and Face, and cf. Superficial.]

FreebaseRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Surface

   In mathematics, specifically, in topology, a surface is a two-dimensional, topological manifold. The most familiar examples are those that arise as the boundaries of solid objects in ordinary three-dimensional Euclidean space R³ — for example, the surface of a ball. On the other hand, there are surfaces, such as the Klein bottle, that cannot be embedded in three-dimensional Euclidean space without introducing singularities or self-intersections. To say that a surface is "two-dimensional" means that, about each point, there is a coordinate patch on which a two-dimensional coordinate system is defined. For example, the surface of the Earth is a two-dimensional sphere, and latitude and longitude provide two-dimensional coordinates on it. The concept of surface finds application in physics, engineering, computer graphics, and many other disciplines, primarily in representing the surfaces of physical objects. For example, in analyzing the aerodynamic properties of an airplane, the central consideration is the flow of air along its surface.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Surface

   sur′fās, n. the exterior part of anything.—adj. Sur′faced, having a surface.—ns. Sur′faceman, a miner employed in open-air working: a workman employed in keeping a railway-bed in repair; Sur′face-print′ing, printing from a relief surface, as cotton-cloth; Sur′facer, one who, or that which, smooths or levels a surface; Sur′face-ten′sion, in liquids, that property in virtue of which a liquid surface behaves as if it were a stretched elastic membrane—say a sheet of india-rubber; Sur′face-wa′ter, drainage-water; Sur′facing, the act of giving a certain surface to anything. [Fr., from sur—L. super, and face—L. facies.]

The Standard Electrical DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Surface

   A galvanic battery is arranged in surface when all the positive plates are connected together and all the negative plates are also connected. This makes it equivalent to one large cell, the surface of whose plates would be equal to the aggregate surface of the plates of the battery. It is also used as an adjective, as "a surface arrangement of battery."

Military Dictionary and GazetteerRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. surface

   In fortification, that part of the side which is terminated by the flank prolonged, and the angle of the nearest bastion; the double of this line with the curtain is equal to the exterior side.

Rap DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. surface

   Membership Unknown Allies Crips, Bloods, Piru, and Nuestra Familia Rivals Zoner Nation and Various gangs

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. surface

   A type of material.

   The surface of the cooker was made of a variety of materials.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on February 27, 2020  

2. ---

   surface

   An area or space.

   The surface of the desk was ample for them to work efficiently.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on April 14, 2020  

Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. surface

   Song lyrics by surface -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by surface on the Lyrics.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. SURFACE

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Surface is ranked #12929 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Surface surname appeared 2,377 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Surface.
   
   94.1% or 2,237 total occurrences were White.
   2% or 48 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   1.7% or 42 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   1.3% or 32 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
   0.5% or 12 total occurrences were Asian.
   0.2% or 6 total occurrences were Black.

Matched Categories

1. • Artifact
   • Aspect
   • Boundary
   • Cover
   • Public Knowledge

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'surface' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1099

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'surface' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2831

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'surface' in Nouns Frequency: #431

How to pronounce surface?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say surface in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of surface in Chaldean Numerology is: 1

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of surface in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of surface in a Sentence

1. Wang Yi:

   I think China's SSMs - surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island ... Its new radars on Cuarteron Reef ... The 10,000-foot runway on Subi Reef ... and on Fiery Cross Reef and other places; these are actions that are changing in my opinion the operational landscape in the South China Sea.

2. Dwight D Eisenhower:

   From behind the Iron Curtain, there are signs that tyranny is in trouble and reminders that its structure is as brittle as its surface is hard.

3. Edward Guinan:

   Geothermal heating could support' life zones' under its surface, akin to subsurface lakes found in Antarctica, we note that the surface temperature on Jupiter's icy moon Europa is similar to Edward Emerson Barnard b, but because of tidal heating, Europa probably has liquid oceans under its icy surface.

4. Buzz Aldrin:

   Aldrin in the Apollo 11 Lunar Module. For the 50th anniversary of the landing, Omega issued a limited edition Speedmaster watch, a tribute to the one that Buzz Aldrin wore to the moon. ( Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP) I prefaced desolate with magnificent, because of humanitys reaching outward and accomplishing something that people thought was impossible, Buzz Aldrin said. They dreamed of somehow reaching the moon. And to demonstrate, to be a part of demonstrating this miracle was magnificent. On July 16, 1969, Buzz Aldrin, along with mission commander Neil Armstrong and command module pilot Michael Collins, launched from Kennedy Space Center atop a Saturn V rocket. Four days later, Neil Armstrong made history when Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon. Aldrinexited thelunar module 19 minutes after Neil Armstrong. The famed astronaut joked about being second during his interview. APOLLO 11 INSIDERS REMEMBER HISTORYS MOST FAMOUS SPACE MISSION : WE HAD A JOB TO DO AND WE DID IT I will forever, no matter what I do, be known as the second man on the moon, he quipped. In this July 20, 1969 photo made available by NASA, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, lunar module pilot, walks on the surface of the moon during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. ( Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP) Why does it bother you to be a second man to walk on the moon ? Youre one of a dozen men who had that incredible role, Cavuto asked in a follow-up question. Well, people love being vice president, dont they ? No, Buzz Aldrin responded with a chuckle. APOLLO 11S EPIC MISSION TO THE MOON IN PICTURES Does it bother me ? Yeah, it does a little bit, Buzz Aldrin continued. Why ? Because that isnt the way I would have described what this country did with two human beings landing on the moon and then deciding who was going to go out. We did things together as a team. The famous astronaut also recalls his famous steps across the surface of the moon and how he was well aware that the world was watching. Right near the end of our period out there Buzz Aldrin was doing something with the rock boxes -- I knew where the TV camera was, and I jumped up and down and pranced around to demonstrate the mobility that a person has, he said. So I was demonstrating for the people watching on TVintentionally showing them the varieties of kangaroo hop of turning. APOLLO 11 INSIDERS REMEMBER HISTORYS MOST FAMOUS SPACE MISSION : WE HAD A JOB TO DO AND WE DID IT During his sit-down with Cavuto, Buzz Aldrin also recollected the experience of looking back at Earth while on the surface of the Moon. [ You ] look up there, theres the earth. It looks small when its up there. If you look close, you may be able to see the ice over a pole, he said. If you look at your Omega watch, you may be able to tell what time it is in Houston. Buzz Aldrin also talked about the political significance of their mission to the moon, coming as it did duringthe space race with Russia atthe height of the Cold War. APOLLO 11 : THE BOOK THAT LANDED MAN ON THE MOON COULD SELL FOR $ 9 MILLION I do a lot of thinking today -- about somebody who had -- the guts to see that we were being outshone -- outshined in the Cold War by the Soviet Union, and to say, What can we do ?

5. Karl Lang:

   It’s a seismogenic area. It’s a very large fault zone, but this is a larger earthquake than they’ve experienced any time in recent memory, the magnitude of shaking that is felt on the surface is both a function of the amount of energy released, the size of the earthquake, but also how far that energy is released below the surface. So if it is very close to the surface, if it is a shallow earthquake, then it can be very dangerous.

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