surface en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈsɝ.fəs/ weak vowel merger
- (US) audio
- /ˈsɝ.fɪs/ weak vowel distinction
- /ˈsɜː.fɪs/ weak vowel distinction
- /ˈsɜː.fəs/ weak vowel merger
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French surface. By surface analysis, sur- + face. Doublet of superficies.
Meanings
- The external boundary of an object or body.
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The overside or upside of a flat object such as a table, or of a liquid.
Use the lowest light level required. Be mindful of surface conditions, as some surfaces may reflect more light into the night sky than was intended.
2020 June 1, DarkSky International, Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting:A very neat old woman, still in her good outdoor coat and best beehive hat, was sitting at a polished mahogany table on whose surface there were several scored scratches so deep that a triangular piece of the veneer had come cleanly away,[…].
1963, Margery Allingham, “Foreword”, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
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The outside hull of a tangible object.
[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across.
2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
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(figuratively) Outward or external appearance.
“A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable,[…].
1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:Such characters as have nothing but external accompliſhments to recommend them, may indeed be greatly admired and approved by vain and weak underſtandings, which penetrate no deeper than the ſurface; but they are deſpiſed by all the truly ſenſible, and pitied by all the truly good.
1782, Vicesimus Knox, “On knowing the world at an early age”, in Liberal education: […], 4th edition, London: Charles Dilly […], pages 393–394:On the surface, the spy looked like a typical businessman.
- The locus of an equation (especially one with exactly two degrees of freedom) in a space of more than two dimensions.
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(qualifier:crosswording) The story or image suggested by a cryptic clue, when read as a whole sentence without considering wordplay.
The surface is clearly about people like you and me, those whose better days are behind us and who now shop at M&S.
2010 May 3, Sandy Balfour, “Beginner's guide to solving cryptic crosswords”, in The Guardian:This clue with a booze-related surface uses “sandwich” wordplay, with an insertion of P from “priceless” into “lean to”, which the Oxford Dictionary of English lists as an alternative to “lean towards”, meaning the same as “incline to”.
2024 June 4, Peter Biddlecombe, “Sunday Times clue writing contest 2020: Lepanto”, in Sunday Times:If you are fooled by the surface you start thinking about internet browsers. But in this case it deviously refers to an animal that feeds by browsing, which is a longer standing use of the word.
2018 December 7, Bryan Lawson, The Design Student's Journey: understanding How Designers Think, Routledge, →ISBN:
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A portion of the display to which graphics can be rendered.
The video player algorithm requires a target surface.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| surfaces | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
surface Web · land-surface · surface-dwelling · surface ship · surfacewards · ruled surface directrix · subsurface · last scattering surface · overspray surface texture · surfacism · surface boundary layer · undersurface · earth surface person · attack surface · surface-to-surface missile · surface web · Alfvén surface · surfaceward · surface gravity · surface mounted technology · surfaceless · Earth surface person · surface-active · microsurface · surface analysis · on the surface · heating surface · palaeosurface · surface quality · bedding surface · free surface · surface mounted · skew surface · surfaceman · near-surface · isosurface · Riemann surface · minimal surface · antisurface · pseudosurface · land surface · surface lease · surface car · worksurface · surfaceome · Roman surface · surface tension · desurface · surface of revolution · Earth Surface Person · surfacely · streamsurface · surface clutter · datum surface · sub-surface · hypersurface · surface mount technology · surface-supplied diving · surface patch · surface layer · archaeosurface · surface etymology · Catalan surface · ergosurface · surface-mount · surface structure · nanosurface · sea-surface · developable surface · nonsurface · detectable warning surface · surfaceable · low surface brightness galaxy · air-to-surface · lateral surface · work surface · surface energy · surface-to-air · surface integral · Seifert surface · surface finish · Gaussian surface · tactile ground surface indicator · Bézier surface · conical surface · surface normal · resurface · surface interval · surface plasmon · surface-to-surface · surface-to-air missile · surface lift · Hurwitz surface · Alfven surface · subway-surface · Fermi surface · surface noise · sea surface · metasurface · surface street · surfacer · air-to-surface missile · surface water · surfel · midsurface · multisurface · Steiner surface · Veronese surface · surfacic · surface mail · surface combatant · under the surface · surface-conduction electron-emitter display · Kummer surface · tactile walking surface indicator · surface mount · surface area · cavosurface · intersurface · caustic surface · countersurface · paleosurface · surfome · surface runoff · scratch the surface · surface-mount technology · surface discharge · faying surface · near surface · low-surface-brightness galaxy · surfacy · eigensurface · Morin surface · beneath the surface · below the surface · control surface · scratch below the surface · surface-level · Fréchet surface · scratch beneath the surface · equipotential surface
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (139)
az üzəri (up-side of a flat object) · ltg vierss (up-side of a flat object) · nan-hbl 表面 (up-side of a flat object) · ru пове́рхность (up-side of a flat object) · lt danga (up-side of a flat object) · el επιφάνεια (up-side of a flat object) · kk бет (up-side of a flat object) · pl powierzchnia (up-side of a flat object) · ang brādnes (up-side of a flat object) · sl ploskev (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · vi mặt (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · sv yta (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · it superficie (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · lt paviršius (up-side of a flat object) · fo yvirflati (up-side of a flat object) · oc superficia (up-side of a flat object) · ln etando (up-side of a flat object) · mi karetai (up-side of a flat object) · pt superfície (up-side of a flat object) · gl superficie (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · ru поверхность (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · ro suprafață (up-side of a flat object) · tl karayagan (up-side of a flat object) · sa प्रतीक (up-side of a flat object) · hy մակերեւույթ (up-side of a flat object) · ko 표면 (up-side of a flat object) · io surfaco (up-side of a flat object) · eo surfaco (up-side of a flat object) · hu kinézet (outward or external appearance) · sq sipërfaqe (up-side of a flat object) · az səth (up-side of a flat object) · kk үст (up-side of a flat object) · ms permukaan (up-side of a flat object) · yue 表面 (up-side of a flat object) · lt paviršius (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · kix ātshùi (outside hull of a tangible object) · sk povrch (up-side of a flat object) · fi pinta (outside hull of a tangible object) · vi bề mặt (up-side of a flat object) · hy մակերեւույթ (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · ga dromchla (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · ja 表面 (up-side of a flat object) · id permukaan (up-side of a flat object) · pl powierzchnia (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · uk пове́рхня (up-side of a flat object) · fr surface (up-side of a flat object) · hu felszín (outward or external appearance) · nn dekke (up-side of a flat object) · kix ātshùi (up-side of a flat object) · mi kārewa (up-side of a flat object) · cy arwyneb (up-side of a flat object) · ar سَطْح (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · nl oppervlakte (up-side of a flat object) · fr surface (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · fi pinta (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · hu felület (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · eo surfaco (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · nl buitenzijde (outside hull of a tangible object) · tl dayag (up-side of a flat object) · de Oberfläche (up-side of a flat object) · tr yüzey (up-side of a flat object) · ml ഉപരിതലം (up-side of a flat object) · ko 곡면 (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · el επιφάνεια (outward or external appearance) · nn overflate (up-side of a flat object) · ug بەت (up-side of a flat object) · sh по̏вршина (up-side of a flat object) · nl oppervlak (outside hull of a tangible object) · el επιφάνεια (outside hull of a tangible object) · ca superfície (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · bni etando (up-side of a flat object) · nl oppervlak (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · lv virsma (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · hu látszat (outward or external appearance) · sl površina (up-side of a flat object) · txb ānte (up-side of a flat object) · nl oppervlak (up-side of a flat object) · lad sovrefaz (up-side of a flat object) · cs povrch (up-side of a flat object) · hu felület (outside hull of a tangible object) · is yfirborð (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · br gorreenn (up-side of a flat object) · tr yüzey (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · ast superficie (up-side of a flat object) · nb overflate (up-side of a flat object) · de Fläche (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · bg въ́ншност (outward or external appearance) · uli hadhadol’ (outside hull of a tangible object) · hu felszín (outside hull of a tangible object) · eu gainazal (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · mba taglutaw (up-side of a flat object) · sv yta (up-side of a flat object) · oc superfícia (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · ota یوز (up-side of a flat object) · th พื้นผิว (up-side of a flat object) · hi तल (up-side of a flat object) · af oppervlak (up-side of a flat object) · vi mặt (up-side of a flat object) · cs plocha (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · sq syprinë (up-side of a flat object) · hu felszín (up-side of a flat object) · es superficie (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · la superficiēs (up-side of a flat object) · grc ἐπιπολή (up-side of a flat object) · hak 表面 (up-side of a flat object) · ka ზედაპირი (up-side of a flat object) · ca superfície (up-side of a flat object) · sh pȍvršina (up-side of a flat object) · fi pinta (up-side of a flat object) · pt superfície (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · mn талбай (up-side of a flat object) · bg повъ́рхност (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · es superficie (up-side of a flat object) · ast superficie (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · az səth (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · kk бет (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · nb dekke (up-side of a flat object) · ga dreach (up-side of a flat object) · ro suprafață (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · mi mata (up-side of a flat object) · yi אויבנאויף (up-side of a flat object) · ar سَطْح (up-side of a flat object) · si මතුපිට (up-side of a flat object) · te ఉపరితలం (up-side of a flat object) · mi kahu (up-side of a flat object) · it superficie (up-side of a flat object) · fi pintapuoli (outward or external appearance) · lv virsma (up-side of a flat object) · mk површина (up-side of a flat object) · cmn 表面 (up-side of a flat object) · uk поверхня (locus of an equation in a more-than-two-dimensional space) · gl superficie (up-side of a flat object) · hy մակերես (up-side of a flat object) · da overflade (up-side of a flat object) · is yfirborð (up-side of a flat object) · bg повъ́рхност (up-side of a flat object) · nci īxtli (up-side of a flat object) · kix ātshùi (outward or external appearance) · be паве́рхня (up-side of a flat object)