/ səˈraʊnd; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
surround sth/sb (with sth) to be all around sth/sb :
Tall trees surround the lake.
The lake is surrounded with / by trees.
the membranes surrounding the brain
As a child I was surrounded by love and kindness.
2.
surround sb/sth (with sb/sth) to move into position all around sb/sth, especially so as to prevent them from escaping; to move sb/sth into position in this way :
Police surrounded the building.
They've surrounded the building with police.
3.
to be closely connected with sth/sb :
publicity surrounding the divorce
4.
surround yourself with sb/sth to choose to have particular people or things near you all the time :
I like to surround myself with beautiful things.
■ noun
a border or an area around the edge of sth, especially one that is decorated
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense overflow ): from Old French souronder , from late Latin superundare , from super- over + undare to flow (from unda a wave); later associated with round . The current noun sense dates from the late 19th cent.