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Meaning & use

surf

verb, noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/sɜːf/
US/sɜːrf/

Meanings

  1. verbintransitive

    To ride on the face or crest of a wave, usually standing on a board.

    Grammar: No object; often used with 'in' or 'at' to name the place: surf in Hawaii.

    Patterns

    • surf in/at a place
    • go surfing

    They surf every morning before work.

    She learned to surf in Australia last summer.

    The waves were perfect for surfing.

  2. verbtransitive or intransitive

    To move around the internet casually, looking at different sites or pages.

    Grammar: Can take an object like 'the web' or 'the internet', or be used alone: I was surfing for hours.

    Patterns

    • surf the web
    • surf the internet
    • surf for something

    He spent the afternoon surfing the web.

    I often surf for recipes when I'm hungry.

    She was surfing from one news site to another.

  3. noununcountable

    The foam and breaking waves along a shore.

    Grammar: Used with 'the': the surf was high. Not used with 'a' or in the plural.

    Patterns

    • the surf
    • in the surf

    The surf was too rough for swimming.

    Children played in the surf at the edge of the water.

    We could hear the surf from our hotel room.

Word forms

third person singularsurfs
past tensesurfed
past participlesurfed
-ing formsurfing

Common combinations

surf the web
I surf the web when I can't sleep.
surf the internet
Many people surf the internet on their phones.
go surfing
We're going surfing this weekend.
surf lessons
She took surf lessons in Bali.
the surf
The surf is high today, so be careful.

Synonyms and how they differ

browse
Browse is more general and often suggests looking at things without a clear goal; surf is more casual and often used for moving quickly from page to page.
ride
Ride a wave is a literal alternative for the sports sense, but it does not mean browsing the internet.

Word family

surfer noun
A person who surfs.
surfing noun
The activity or sport of riding waves.
surfboard noun
A board used for surfing.

Commonly confused: surf or serf?

surf vs serf

Serf is a person in a feudal system, pronounced /sɜːf/ in British English but with a different meaning. Surf is about waves or the internet.

Practice

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