surface

Meanings

1. The outside or top layer of something.
2. The outward appearance of something, as opposed to its deeper nature.

Example sentences

• "The table has a smooth surface."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "A leaf floated on the surface of the pond."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "The surface of the road was wet."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "On the surface, the plan looks simple."

  Level B2, Meaning 2

• "The submarine rose to the surface."

  Level B1, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• face : The face of something is a front or side. Surface is the outer layer.
• superficial : Superficial means shallow and not deep. It comes from the Latin word superficies, which is a doublet of surface.
• exterior : Exterior is the formal word for the outside of a building or object. Surface is the top layer you can touch.

Word family and forms

Forms: surfaces, surfaced, surfacing

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "surface".

• a smooth surface
• a flat surface
• on the surface
• surface area
• below the surface
• scratch the surface
• road surface
• the surface of the water

Idioms and phrases

scratch the surface

To deal with only a small part of a subject.

"The report only scratches the surface of the problem."

on the surface

At first sight, without looking deeply.

"On the surface, the offer seemed fair."

Origin

Surface came into English in the early 1600s from French surface. It is built from sur, meaning above or over, plus face, and it was probably modeled on the Latin word superficies, which has a similar build. Surface and superficies are doublets, which means they share the same source.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

Common in the phrase "on the surface", meaning based on first appearances.

How to remember it

Spell it as sur plus face. The face of a thing is what you see first, and that is its surface.

Test yourself

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