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surface

The surface is the outside of anything. The earth, a basketball, and even your body have a surface.

A surface is the top layer of something. The surface of the moon is rocky, with a lot of craters, while the surface of the earth has a lot of water. Sandpaper has a rough surface; a balloon has a smooth but rubbery surface. When we use the word surface, it usually means there is a lot of stuff underneath. That applies to our use of surface to mean outward mood, as in "You look happy on the surface, but I know you're angry on the inside."

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: surface

1	n adj v	the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary on the surface come to the surface
2	n	a superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something
3	v n	appear or become visible; make a showing information that has become public
4	n	a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flight

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: surface

n the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary

“there is a special cleaner for these surfaces”

“the cloth had a pattern of red dots on a white surface”

Types:: show 48 types...; hide 48 types...; bed
the flat surface of a printing press on which the type form is laid in the last stage of producing a newspaper or magazine or book etc.; board, gameboard
a flat portable surface (usually rectangular) designed for board games; face
the striking or working surface of an implement; ground
(art) the surface (as a wall or canvas) prepared to take the paint for a painting; horizontal surface, level
a flat surface at right angles to a plumb line; Klein bottle
a closed surface with only one side; formed by passing one end of a tube through the side of the tube and joining it with the other end; meniscus
(physics) the curved upper surface of a nonturbulent liquid in a vertical tube; miter, mitre
the surface of a beveled end of a piece where a miter joint is made; Mobius strip
a continuous closed surface with only one side; formed from a rectangular strip by rotating one end 180 degrees and joining it with the other end; plaster, plasterwork
a surface of hardened plaster (as on a wall or ceiling); projection screen, screen, silver screen
a white or silvered surface where pictures can be projected for viewing; side
an extended outer surface of an object; skin
an outer surface (usually thin); spandrel, spandril
an approximately triangular surface area between two adjacent arches and the horizontal plane above them; superficies
outer surface of an area or a body; tread
the grooved surface of a pneumatic tire; vertical surface
a surface that is vertical; work surface
a horizontal surface for supporting objects used in working or playing games; backgammon board
the board on which backgammon is played; beam
the broad side of a ship; broadside
the whole side of a vessel from stem to stern; checker board, checkerboard
a board having 64 squares of two alternating colors; cribbage board
a board with pegs and regularly spaced holes for holding the pegs; used for keeping the score in a game of cribbage; dart board, dartboard
a circular board of wood or cork used as the target in the game of darts; edge
a sharp side formed by the intersection of two surfaces of an object; face
a vertical surface of a building or cliff; floor, flooring
the inside lower horizontal surface (as of a room, hallway, tent, or other structure); front
the side that is seen or that goes first; go board
a board used for playing go; larboard, port
the left side of a ship or aircraft to someone who is aboard and facing the bow or nose; monopoly board
a board used for playing monopoly; nearside
the side of a vehicle nearest the kerb; obverse
the side of a coin or medal bearing the principal stamp or design; Ouija, Ouija board
a board with the alphabet on it; used with a planchette to spell out supernatural messages; pargeting, pargetry, pargetting
ornamental plasterwork; paved surface
a level horizontal surface covered with paving material; pegboard
a board perforated with regularly spaced holes into which pegs can be fitted; platform
a raised horizontal surface; punchboard
a small board full of holes; each hole contains a slip of paper with symbols printed on it; a gambler pays a small sum for the privilege of pushing out a slip in the hope of obtaining one that entitles him to a prize; back, rear
the side that goes last or is not normally seen; reverse, verso
the side of a coin or medal that does not bear the principal design; sidewall
the side of an automobile tire; soffit
the underside of a part of a building (such as an arch or overhang or beam etc.); starboard
the right side of a ship or aircraft to someone who is aboard and facing the bow or nose; tabletop
the top horizontal work surface of a table; upper surface
the side that is uppermost; wide screen
a projection screen that is much wider than it is high; writing board
work surface consisting of a wide lightweight board that can be placed across the lap and used for writing

Type of:: artefact, artifact
a man-made object taken as a whole

n the extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object

“they skimmed over the surface of the water”

“a brush small enough to clean every dental surface”

“the sun has no distinct surface”

Types:: show 20 types...; hide 20 types...; interface
(chemistry) a surface forming a common boundary between two things (two objects or liquids or chemical phases); hard palate
the bony part of the roof of the mouth; palate, roof of the mouth
the upper surface of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities; face, side
a surface forming part of the outside of an object; celestial sphere, empyrean, firmament, heavens, sphere, vault of heaven, welkin
the apparent surface of the imaginary sphere on which celestial bodies appear to be projected; end
the surface at either extremity of a three-dimensional object; inside, interior
the inner or enclosed surface of something; exterior, outside
the outer side or surface of something; substrate, substratum
a surface on which an organism grows or is attached; wave front, wavefront
(physics) an imaginary surface joining all points in space that are reached at the same instant by a wave propagating through a medium; photosphere
the intensely luminous surface of a star (especially the sun); beam-ends
(nautical) at the ends of the transverse deck beams of a vessel; bottom, underside, undersurface
the lower side of anything; forepart, front, front end
the side that is forward or prominent; belly
the hollow inside of something; lee, lee side, leeward
the side of something that is sheltered from the wind; windward
the side of something that is toward the wind; back end, backside, rear
the side of an object that is opposite its front; top, top side, upper side, upside
the highest or uppermost side of anything; oil-water interface
an interface forming the boundary between the non-miscible liquids oil and water

Type of:: bound, boundary, bounds
the line or plane indicating the limit or extent of something

n the outermost level of the land or sea

“earthquakes originate far below the surface”

“three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water”

Synonyms:: Earth's surface

Types:: floor
the bottom surface of any lake or other body of water; floor
the lower inside surface of any hollow structure

Type of:: layer
a relatively thin sheetlike expanse or region lying over or under another

adj on the surface

“surface materials of the moon”

Synonyms: aboveground
on or above the surface of the ground; grade-constructed
constructed at ground level; opencast, opencut
(of mines and mining) worked from the exposed surface

Antonyms:: subsurface
beneath the surface; overhead
located or originating from above; belowground, underground
under the level of the ground; submarine, undersea
beneath the surface of the sea; submerged, submersed, underwater
beneath the surface of the water; subterranean, subterraneous
being or operating under the surface of the earth; show more antonyms...

v come to the surface

Synonyms:: come up, rise, rise up

Types:: show 4 types...; hide 4 types...; emerge
come up to the surface of or rise; resurface
reappear on the surface; bubble up, intumesce
move upwards in bubbles, as from the effect of heating; also used metaphorically; swell, well
come up, as of a liquid

Type of:: ascend, go up
travel up, "We ascended the mountain"

v put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface

Synonyms:: coat

Types:: show 64 types...; hide 64 types...; rubber, rubberise, rubberize
coat or impregnate with rubber; anodise, anodize
coat a metal with an oxide coat; gelatinize
coat with gelatin; skim
coat (a liquid) with a layer; stucco
coat with stucco; egg
coat with beaten egg; encrust, incrust
cover or coat with a crust; dredge
cover before cooking; soot
coat with soot; refinish
give a new surface; brush on
apply with a brush; patinate, patinise, patinize
coat with a patina; resurface
cover with a new surface; crumb
coat with bread crumbs; copper
coat with a layer of copper; finish
provide with a finish; bonderise, bonderize
coat with a substance that will prevent corrosion; blacktop
coat with blacktop; foliate
coat or back with metal foil; galvanise, galvanize
cover with zinc; pave
cover with a material such as stone or concrete to make suitable for vehicle traffic; seal, varnish
cover with varnish; glaze
coat with a glaze; tar
coat with tar; enrobe
provide with a coating; daub, plaster
coat with plaster; render
coat with plastic or cement; skimcoat
coat with a mixture of gypsum and spackle; paint
apply paint to; coat with paint; cement
cover or coat with cement; grit
cover with a grit; plate
coat with a layer of metal; metal
cover with metal; macadamise, macadamize, tarmac
surface with macadam; size
cover or stiffen or glaze a porous material with size or sizing (a glutinous substance); metalize, metallize
coat with metal; platinize
coat with metallic platinum; porcelainize
coat with porcelain or a porcelain-like surface; zinc
coat or cover with zinc; tin
prepare (a metal) for soldering or brazing by applying a thin layer of solder to the surface; flour
cover with flour; dress
put a finish on; broom
finish with a broom; cobble, cobblestone
pave with cobblestones; hard surface
cover with asphalt or a similar surface; causeway
pave a road with cobblestones or pebbles; asphalt
cover with tar or asphalt; shellac, shellack
cover with shellac; render-set
cover with two coats of plaster; parget
apply ornamental plaster to; roughcast
apply roughcast to; mud
plaster with mud; mortar
plaster with mortar; grain
paint (a surface) to make it look like stone or wood; repaint
paint again; airbrush
paint with an airbrush; ground, prime, undercoat
cover with a primer; apply a primer to; tin
plate with tin; silver
coat with a layer of silver or a silver amalgam; nickel
plate with nickel; electroplate
coat with metal by electrolysis; chrome, chromium-plate
plate with chromium; gold plate, gold-plate, goldplate
plate with gold; silver-plate, silverplate
plate with silver

Type of:: cover
provide with a covering or cause to be covered

n a superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something

“it was not what it appeared to be on the surface”

Type of:: aspect, facet
a distinct feature or element in a problem

v appear or become visible; make a showing

“I hope the list key is going to surface again”

Synonyms:: come on, come out, show up, turn up

Type of:: appear
come into sight or view

n information that has become public

“the facts had been brought to the surface”

Synonyms:: open

Type of:: general knowledge, public knowledge
knowledge that is available to anyone

n a device that provides reactive force when in motion relative to the surrounding air; can lift or control a plane in flight

Synonyms:: aerofoil, airfoil, control surface

Types:: show 14 types...; hide 14 types...; aileron
an airfoil that controls lateral motion; elevator
the airfoil on the tailplane of an aircraft that makes it ascend or descend; flap, flaps
a movable airfoil that is part of an aircraft wing; used to increase lift or drag; horizontal stabiliser, horizontal stabilizer, tailplane
the horizontal airfoil of an aircraft's tail assembly that is fixed and to which the elevator is hinged; rotary wing, rotor blade
the long airfoil that rotates to provide the lift that supports a helicopter in the air; rudder
a hinged vertical airfoil mounted at the tail of an aircraft and used to make horizontal course changes; spoiler
a hinged airfoil on the upper surface of an aircraft wing that is raised to reduce lift and increase drag; spoiler
an airfoil mounted on the rear of a car to reduce lift at high speeds; stabilizer
airfoil consisting of a device for stabilizing an aircraft; vertical tail
the vertical airfoil in the tail assembly of an aircraft; wing
one of the horizontal airfoils on either side of the fuselage of an airplane; horizontal tail
the horizontal stabilizer and elevator in the tail assembly of an aircraft; landing flap
a flap on the underside of the wing that is lowered to slow the plane for landing; tail fin, tailfin, vertical fin, vertical stabiliser, vertical stabilizer
a stabilizer that is part of the vertical tail structure of an airplane

Type of:: device
an instrumentality invented for a particular purpose

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