surroundings

Your surroundings are the things all around you. When you park your car in a huge lot, paying attention to your surroundings can help you find the car again later.

You can use the noun surroundings to mean the nearby environment — all of the objects close by, as well as the location itself — and also the circumstances or conditions where you are. When someone builds a house, the surroundings will help determine which direction it will face and how many windows it will have. Surroundings stems from surround, "be all around," but originally "flood or overflow."