From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsurroundsur‧round1 /səˈraʊnd/ ●●● W2 verb [transitive] 1 AROUND/ROUNDto be all around someone or something on every sidebe surrounded by something The field was surrounded by trees. He glared at the people who surrounded the tent.Grammar Surround is often passive in this meaning.2 → be surrounded by somebody/something3 AROUND/ROUNDif police or soldiers surround a place, they arrange themselves in positions all the way around it Armed police surrounded a house in the High Street.4 CONNECTED WITHto be closely related to a situation or event Some of the issues surrounding alcohol abuse are very complex. Silence and secrecy surround the murder.5 → surround yourself with somebody/something→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
surround• Hopis perform their Snake Dance surrounded by Anglos armed with tripods, in 1897.• She sat in an armchair, surrounded by her 12 cats.• This is a city which lives for today while surrounded by its past.• Le Sport is surrounded by tropical gardens on a secluded bay of golden sand.• We've got the place surrounded. Come out with your hands up.• Police officers moved to surround Evans as he came out of the courtroom.• This new instrument found the first direct evidence of solid matter surrounding stars other than our Sun.• The controversy surrounding the film was doubtless a contributory factor to Hollywood's subsequent avoidance of the subject.• A great deal of controversy has surrounded the new drug.• Football fans ran onto the field and surrounded the referee.• Mountains surround the village on three sides.be surrounded by something• He is surrounded by an electronic keyboard, a rack of music equipment, a recording microphone and a personal computer.• Groups of Federals are surrounded by ConfederatesConfederates surrounded by Federals.• For at school, the young man would be surrounded by men much like him-self.• The Volvo, whose windows wind down to reveal plush red curtains, is surrounded by stepladders.• The burial place was surrounded by the crypt and above it, in the church, was the high altar.• They claimed that when they were surrounded by the gang they acted in self defence.• But the brain is surrounded by the skull, and all that escaped blood takes up space, squeezing the brain.• Le Sport is surrounded by tropical gardens on a secluded bay of golden sand.surroundsurround2 noun [countable] AVEDGEan area around the edge of something, especially one that is decorated or made of a different material a solid mahogany fire surroundExamples from the Corpus
surround• We think the inhibition is part of an inhibitory surround that helps focus neural activity in the dominant hemisphere.• The graceful brass plated trimmings and finials are complemented here by the solid pine Osborne surround.• Like the skin comparison neurons in the spinal cord, the center may be excitatory and the surround inhibitory.Origin surround1 (1400-1500) Old French suronder “to overflow, flood”, from Late Latin superundare, from Latin unda “wave” 