surface

noun

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

The outside hull of a tangible object.

(figurative) Outward or external appearance.

(mathematics, geometry) The locus of an equation (especially one with exactly two degrees of freedom) in a space of more than two dimensions.

(crosswording) The story or image suggested by a cryptic clue, when read as a whole sentence without considering wordplay.

A surname.

verb

(transitive) To provide with a surface; to apply a surface to.

(intransitive) To rise to the surface.

(transitive) To bring to the surface.

(intransitive, of information, facts, content, etc) To become known or apparent; to appear or be found; to come to light.

(transitive) To make (information, facts, content, etc) known.

(intransitive, figurative) To come out of hiding.

(intransitive) To work a mine near the surface.

Roots

supersur- · Latin · over, above facies-face · Latin · face, form

Synonyms for surface

superficiesn shallowadj crustn superficialadj outeradj

Synonyms & related words for surface

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of surface — including superficies, shallow, crust, superficial, outer. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to surface

Explore words related to surface — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include subsurface, surficial, slickenside, vadose, undersurface, synclastic, aboveground, emersed. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for surface

Common synonyms for surface include superficies, shallow, crust, superficial, outer — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does surface come from?

The word surface breaks down into 2 roots of Latin origin: sur-, from Latin super (“over, above”); and -face, from Latin facies (“face, form”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.