surface (adj.)

  1. on the surface; surface materials of the moon'

    surface (n.)

  1. 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'

  2. 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'

  3. the outermost level of the land or sea; earthquakes originate far below the surface; three quarters of the Earths surface is covered by water

    [ Syn: earths surface ]

  4. a superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something; it was not what it appeared to be on the surface'

  5. information that has become public; all the reports were out in the open; the facts had been brought to the surface

    [ Syn: open ]

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

    [ Syn: airfoil , aerofoil , control surface ]

    surface (v.)

  1. come to the surface

    [ Syn: come up , rise up , rise ]

  2. put a coat on; cover the surface of; furnish with a surface; coat the cake with chocolate

    [ Syn: coat ]

  3. appear or become visible; make a showing; She turned up at the funeral; I hope the list key is going to surface again

    [ Syn: come on , come out , turn up , show up ]

The dictionary is based on the WordNet Electronic Lexical Database.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2011 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.