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Added 10 October 2026

surf

/sɜːf/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about surf at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Waves that break on an ocean shoreline.
An instance or session of riding a surfboard in the surf.
We went for a surf this morning.
A dance popular in the 1960s in which the movements of a surfboard rider are mimicked.

verb

To ride a wave on a surfboard; to pursue or take part in the sport of surfing.
To surf at a specified place.
To bodysurf; to swim in the surf at a beach.

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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