Standard Lemma guide

surf

name · noun · verb · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australian, Received-Pronunciation: /sɜːf/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /sɝf/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Scotland: /sʌɹf/
  • New-Zealand, Wales: /søːf/
  • /seːf/ Liverpool, fair–fur merger
  • /sɛːf/ Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger
  • rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ)f
  • homophone: serf (fern–fir–fur merger)
  • CMU ARPABET: S ER1 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

Initialism of speeded up robust features.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism

Topics: computer-graphics, computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Waves that break on an ocean shoreline.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An instance or session of riding a surfboard in the surf.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • We went for a surf this morning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A dance popular in the 1960s in which the movements of a surfboard rider are mimicked.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

The bottom of a drain.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, countable, dialectal, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To ride a wave on a surfboard; to pursue or take part in the sport of surfing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To surf at a specified place.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

To bodysurf; to swim in the surf at a beach.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

verb

Meaning 9

To browse the Internet, television, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

waves breaking on the shore

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: breaker, breakers

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: wave, moving ridge

11

verb

Meaning 11

switch channels, on television

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: channel-surf

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: switch, shift, change

12

verb

Meaning 12

look around casually and randomly, without seeking anything in particular

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • browse a computer directory
  • surf the internet or the world wide web

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: browse

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: search, seek, look for

13

verb

Meaning 13

ride the waves of the sea with a surfboard

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Californians love to surf

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: surfboard

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: glide

Narrower terms: windsurf

History

Etymology

Probably from earlier suff, suffe (“the inrush of the sea towards the shore”), possibly from Middle English suffe. Compare sough, surf (“a gutter, drain, sewer, trench”) and sough (“a soothing, gentle, murmuring sound of wind or water”). Alternatively, possibly of Indo-Aryan origin, as the word was formerly a reference to the coast of India, though this is doubtful as no positive etymon can be identified. The verb is from 1917. The verb referring to "browsing the Internet" was popularized by Jean Armour Polly.

Across languages

Translations

90 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: прибой (priboj) — waves that break
  • Cornish: mordardh — waves that break
  • Dutch: branding — waves that break
  • Esperanto: surfo — waves that break
  • Faroese: brim — waves that break
  • Finnish: surffi — waves that break
  • French: brisants — waves that break
  • Galician: rompente — waves that break
  • German: Brandung — waves that break
  • Ancient Greek: ῥόθιον (rhóthion) — waves that break
  • Ancient Greek: ῥηγμῑ́ν (rhēgmī́n) — waves that break
  • Hungarian: taraj — waves that break
  • Hungarian: hullám — waves that break
  • Icelandic: brim — waves that break
  • Irish: bruth — waves that break
  • Italian: frangenti — waves that break
  • Italian: flutti — waves that break
  • Māori: auheke — waves that break
  • Māori: karekare — waves that break
  • Māori: pōhutu — waves that break
  • Māori: tai whati — waves that break
  • Norwegian Bokmål: brenning — waves that break
  • Polish: przybój — waves that break
  • Portuguese: rebentação — waves that break
  • Russian: прибо́й (pribój) — waves that break
  • Spanish: marea — waves that break
  • Spanish: oleaje — waves that break
  • Vietnamese: cuộc lướt sóng — waves that break
  • Welsh: ewyn y don — waves that break
  • Welsh: brig y don — waves that break
  • Welsh: ewyn môr — waves that break
  • Bulgarian: ловя вълни (lovja vǎlni) — to ride a wave
  • Chinese Mandarin: 衝浪 /冲浪 (chōnglàng) — to ride a wave
  • Cornish: mordardha — to ride a wave
  • Dutch: surfen — to ride a wave
  • Esperanto: ondorajdi — to ride a wave
  • Esperanto: surfi — to ride a wave
  • Finnish: lainelautailla — to ride a wave
  • French: surfer — to ride a wave
  • German: wellenreiten — to ride a wave
  • German: surfen — to ride a wave
  • Hawaiian: e heʻe nalu — to ride a wave
  • Hebrew: גלש — to ride a wave
  • Hungarian: hullámlovagol — to ride a wave
  • Hungarian: szörfözik — to ride a wave
  • Italian: surfare — to ride a wave
  • Italian: fare surf — to ride a wave
  • Japanese: サーフインをする (sāfin-o suru) — to ride a wave
  • Māori: whakahekeheke — to ride a wave
  • Māori: whakahekeheke ngaru — to ride a wave
  • Māori: eke ngaru — to ride a wave
  • Māori: whakaheke ngaru — to ride a wave
  • Māori: whakaretireti — to ride a wave
  • Māori: auheke — to ride a wave
  • Norman: seurfer — to ride a wave
  • Polish: surfować — to ride a wave
  • Portuguese: surfar — to ride a wave
  • Russian: занима́ться сёрфингом (zanimátʹsja sjórfingom) — to ride a wave
  • Samoan: e fa'ase'e i le galu — to ride a wave
  • Spanish: surfear — to ride a wave
  • Swedish: surfa — to ride a wave
  • Tongan: fānifo — to ride a wave
  • Turkish: sörf yapmak — to ride a wave
  • Ukrainian: займа́тися се́рфінгом (zajmátysja sérfinhom) — to ride a wave
  • Vietnamese: lướt sóng — to ride a wave
  • Welsh: beistonna — to ride a wave
  • Welsh: syrffio — to ride a wave
  • Bulgarian: сърфирам (sǎrfiram) — to browse the Internet
  • Catalan: navegar — to browse the Internet
  • Cornish: rosya — to browse the Internet
  • Dutch: surfen — to browse the Internet
  • Esperanto: retumi — to browse the Internet
  • Finnish: surffata — to browse the Internet
  • French: surfer — to browse the Internet
  • German: surfen — to browse the Internet
  • Hebrew: גלש — to browse the Internet
  • Hungarian: szörfözik — to browse the Internet
  • Hungarian: szörföl — to browse the Internet
  • Italian: navigare — to browse the Internet
  • Navajo: bitaaʼ dilkʼąąs — to browse the Internet
  • Norman: seurfer — to browse the Internet
  • Polish: surfować — to browse the Internet
  • Portuguese: navegar — to browse the Internet
  • Russian: сёрфить (sjórfitʹ) — to browse the Internet
  • Spanish: navegar — to browse the Internet
  • Swahili: peruzi — to browse the Internet
  • Swedish: surfa — to browse the Internet
  • Vietnamese: lướt web — to browse the Internet
  • Vietnamese: lướt mạng — to browse the Internet
  • Welsh: syrffio — to browse the Internet