/ səˈrendə(r); NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
surrender (yourself) (to sb) to admit that you have been defeated and want to stop fighting; to allow yourself to be caught, taken prisoner, etc.
SYN give in :
[ v ]
The rebel soldiers were forced to surrender.
[ vn ]
The hijackers eventually surrendered themselves to the police.
2.
[ vn ] surrender sth/sb (to sb) ( formal ) to give up sth/sb when you are forced to
SYN relinquish :
He agreed to surrender all claims to the property.
They surrendered their guns to the police.
The defendant was released to await trial but had to surrender her passport.
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PHRASAL VERBS
- surrender to sth | surrender yourself to sth
■ noun [ U , sing. ]
1.
surrender (to sb/sth) an act of admitting that you have been defeated and want to stop fighting :
They demanded (an) unconditional surrender .
2.
the fact of allowing yourself to be controlled by sth :
They accused the government of a surrender to business interests.
3.
surrender of sth (to sb) an act of giving sth to sb else even though you do not want to, especially after a battle, etc. :
They insisted on the immediate surrender of all weapons.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (chiefly in legal use): from Anglo-Norman French (from sur- and render ).