Phrase guide

surface area

noun · 3 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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The total area on the surface of an object.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: geometry, mathematics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

The total resources of a system that are accessible from the outside world and thus might be attacked.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Qualifier: computer security

Examples

  • Disabling network access to unused ports reduces surface area.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: attack surface

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the area of a rectangle
  • it was about 500 square feet in area

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: area, expanse

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: extent

Narrower terms: acreage, land area, footprint, erasure, space, blank space, place, balk, baulk, section, plane section

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

16 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: մակերես (makeres) — total area on surface of figure
  • Breton: gorreenn — total area on surface of figure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 表面積 /表面积 (biǎomiànjī) — total area on surface of figure
  • Chinese Mandarin: 面積 /面积 (miànjī) — total area on surface of figure
  • Esperanto: surfaca areo — total area on surface of figure
  • Finnish: pinta-ala — total area on surface of figure
  • Hungarian: alapterület — total area on surface of figure
  • Māori: horahanga mata — total area on surface of figure
  • Norwegian Bokmål: overflateareal — total area on surface of figure
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: overflateareal — total area on surface of figure
  • Polish: powierzchnia — total area on surface of figure
  • Slovak: výmera — total area on surface of figure
  • Spanish: área superficial — total area on surface of figure
  • Finnish: hyökkäyspinta — total resources of a system
  • Finnish: hyökkäyspinta-ala — total resources of a system
  • Polish: powierzchnia — total resources of a system