Definitions for surface
ˈsɜr fɪssur·face

Princeton's WordNet(3.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. surface(noun)

   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. surface(noun)

   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 surface(noun)

   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. surface(noun)

   a superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something

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

5. open, surface(noun)

   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, surface(adj)

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

7. surface(verb)

   on the surface

   "surface materials of the moon"

8. surface, come up, rise up, rise(verb)

   come to the surface

9. coat, surface(verb)

   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 up(verb)

    appear or become visible; make a showing

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

GCIDE(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Surface(v. i.)

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

2. Surface(v. i.)

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

3. Surface(v. i.)

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

Wiktionary(3.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. surface(Noun)

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

2. surface(Noun)

   The outside hull of a tangible object.

3. surface(Noun)

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

4. surface(Verb)

   To provide something with a surface.

5. surface(Verb)

   To apply a surface to something.

6. surface(Verb)

   To rise to the surface.

7. surface(Verb)

   To come out of hiding.

8. surface(Verb)

   For information or facts to become known.

9. surface(Verb)

   To work a mine near the surface.

10. surface(Verb)

    To appear or be found.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Surface(noun)

   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. Surface(noun)

   hence, outward or external appearance

3. Surface(noun)

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

4. Surface(noun)

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

5. Surface(verb)

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

6. Surface(verb)

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

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

Freebase(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

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 Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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 Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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 Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

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.

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. surface

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

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

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

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. Opher Doron:

   We definitely crashed on surface of moon.

2. Jim Kennard:

   We're really bringing maritime history to the surface.

3. John Henry Newman:

   The world is content with setting right the surface of things.

4. Captain Joey Gamez:

   I just gave it all I had, just tried to bring her to the surface.

5. Gordana Biernat:

   Beneath the surface of weakness, true strength is always present.

Images & Illustrations of surface

Popularity rank by frequency of use