surround
verb/səˈraʊnd/
/səˈraʊnd/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they surround | /səˈraʊnd/ /səˈraʊnd/ |
| he / she / it surrounds | /səˈraʊndz/ /səˈraʊndz/ |
| past simple surrounded | /səˈraʊndɪd/ /səˈraʊndɪd/ |
| past participle surrounded | /səˈraʊndɪd/ /səˈraʊndɪd/ |
| -ing form surrounding | /səˈraʊndɪŋ/ /səˈraʊndɪŋ/ |
- to be all around something/somebody
- surround something/somebody Tall trees surround the lake.
- the membranes surrounding the brain
- be surrounded by something The garden is surrounded by a wall.
- As a child I was surrounded by love and kindness.
- I loved being surrounded by enthusiastic young people.
- be surrounded with something The lake is surrounded with trees.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- completely
- entirely
- totally
- …
- with
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- to move into position all around somebody/something, especially so as to prevent them from escaping; to move somebody/something into position in this way
- surround somebody/something Police surrounded the building.
- surround somebody/something with somebody/something They've surrounded the building with police.
Extra Examples- Will found himself immediately surrounded by screaming fans.
- On one occasion, armed guerrillas surrounded their jeep.
- Troops fanned out to surround the camp.
- He has now surrounded his house with barbed wire.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- completely
- entirely
- totally
- …
- with
- surround something/somebody to be closely connected with something/somebody
- publicity surrounding the divorce
- the controversy/circumstances surrounding his death
- The report explores the issues surrounding the case.
- surround yourself with somebody/something to choose to have particular people or things near you all the time
- I like to surround myself with beautiful things.
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘overflow’): from Old French souronder, from late Latin superundare, from super- ‘over’ + undare ‘to flow’ (from unda ‘a wave’); later associated with round. The current noun sense dates from the late 19th cent.
Check pronunciation:
surround