sur·round
(sə-round́)
[Middle English surrounden, to inundate, from Old French suronder, from Late Latin superundāre, Latin super-, super-, + Latin undāre, to rise in waves (from unda, wave; see wed-1).]
transitive verb: -round·ed, -round·ing, -rounds.
- To extend on all sides of simultaneously; encircle.
- To enclose or confine on all sides so as to bar escape or outside communication.
noun
- Something, such as fencing or a border, that surrounds: a fireplace surround.
- The area around a thing or place: inflammation extending to the surround of the eye.
- Surroundings; environment: “It was the country, the flat agricultural surround, that so ravished me” (Listener)
- A method of hunting wild animals by surrounding them and driving them to a place from which they cannot escape.
synonyms:
surround, circle, compass, encircle, encompass, environ, gird1girdle, ring1 These verbs mean to lie around and bound on all sides: Suburbs surround the city. A crown circled the king's head. Fog compassed the mountain peak. A belt encircled her waist. A lake encompassed the island. The desert environed the oases. A deep moat girds the castle. Flower gardens girdled the bird bath. Guests ringed the coffee table.
