surf
Americannoun
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the swell of the sea that breaks upon a shore or upon shoals.
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the mass or line of foamy water caused by the breaking of the sea upon a shore, especially a shallow or sloping shore.
verb (used without object)
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to ride a surfboard.
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to float on the crest of a wave toward shore.
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to swim, play, or bathe in the surf.
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to search haphazardly, as for information on a computer network or an interesting program on television.
verb (used with object)
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to ride a surfboard on.
We surfed every big wave in sight.
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to search through (a computer network or TV channels) for information or entertainment.
noun
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waves breaking on the shore or on a reef
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foam caused by the breaking of waves
verb
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(intr) to take part in surfing
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computing (on the internet) to move freely from website to website (esp in the phrase surf the net )
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to move freely between (TV channels or radio stations)
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informal to be carried on top of something
that guy's surfing the audience
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( in combination )
trainsurfing
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Related Words
See wave.
Other Word Forms
- surfable adjective
- surfer noun
- surflike adjective
Etymology
Origin of surf
First recorded in 1600–10; earlier suff; of uncertain origin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Three stores – 59th Street and two in California—will also have a pop-up surf shop.
Not all the individuals the charity supports are rough sleepers - some will be sofa surfing, others may have recently moved into accommodation.
From BBC
Sporting swimming trunks and a rash guard shirt, mayor Andrew Little dived face first into the surf as he sought to reassure angry residents that the water was now safe.
From Barron's
After graduating in 2021, she moved to London and couch surfed for six months, before she got a job as an admin assistant at the Royal Court Theatre on its education team.
From BBC
One morning I went surfing with friends at Bells Beach.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
