Definition of 'surge'
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense surges, present participle surging, past tense, past participle surged
1. countable noun
A surge is a sudden large increase in something that has previously been steady, or has only
increased or developed slowly.
2. intransitive verb
If something surges, it increases suddenly and greatly, after being steady or developing only slowly.
3. intransitive verb
If a crowd of people surge forward, they suddenly move forward together.
4. countable noun
A surge is a sudden powerful movement of a physical force such as wind or water.
5. intransitive verb
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
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Word Frequency
surge in American English
noun
1.
a.
a large mass of or as of moving water; wave; swell; billow
b.
such waves or billows collectively or in a series
2.
a movement of or like that of a mass of water; violent rolling, sweeping, or swelling motion
the surge of the sea
3.
a sudden, sharp increase of electric current or voltage in a circuit
4.
any sudden, strong increase, as of energy, enthusiasm, etc.
verb intransitiveWord forms: surged or ˈsurging
6.
to have a heavy, violent swelling motion; move in or as in a surge or surges
7.
to rise and fall or be tossed about on waves, as a ship
8.
to increase suddenly or abnormally
said of electric current or voltage 9.
to slip, as a rope or cable on a capstan or windlass
verb transitive
10.
to slacken or release (a rope or cable) suddenly
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
surge in American English
(sɜːrdʒ) (verb surged, surging)
noun
1.
a strong, wavelike, forward movement, rush, or sweep
the onward surge of an angry mob
2.
a strong, swelling, wavelike volume or body of something
a billowing surge of smoke
3.
the rolling swell of the sea
4.
the swelling and rolling sea
The surge crashed against the rocky coast
5.
a swelling wave; billow
6. Meteorology
a.
a widespread change in atmospheric pressure that is in addition to cyclonic and normal diurnal changes
b. See storm surge
8. Nautical
a slackening or slipping back, as of a rope or cable
intransitive verb
10. (of a ship)
to rise and fall, toss about, or move along on the waves
to surge at anchor
11.
to rise, roll, move, or swell forward in or like waves
The sea surged against the shore
The crowd surged back and forth
14. Nautical
b.
to slip back, as a rope
15. Machinery
to move with pulsating unevenness, as something driven by an engine or gas turbine
transitive verb
16.
to cause to surge or roll in or as in waves
17. Nautical
to slacken (a rope)
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Word origin
[1480–90; perh. ‹ L surgere to spring up, arise, stand up]Word Frequency
surge in British English
noun
3.
a heavy rolling motion or sound
the surge of the trumpets
4.
an undulating rolling surface, as of hills
8.
verb
11. (intransitive)
to move like a heavy sea
12. nautical
to slacken or temporarily release (a rope or cable) from a capstan or (of a rope, etc) to be slackened or released and slip back
14. (transitive) rare
to cause to move in or as if in a wave or waves
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
surgeless (ˈsurgeless) adjective
surger (ˈsurger)
noun
Word origin
C15: from Latin surgere to rise, from sub- up + regere to lead
Word Frequency
surge in Electrical Engineering
(sɜrdʒ)
Word forms: (regular plural) surges
noun
(Electrical engineering: Electrical power, Power consumption)
A surge is a momentary wave of current or power in an electric circuit.
Without the safeguard of a fuse or breaker, electrical surges could cause overheating or even fire.
If the fuse is too large, it may not blow when a surge occurs.
A surge is a momentary wave of current or power in an electric circuit.
Collins COBUILD Key Words for Electrical Engineering. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Examples of 'surge' in a sentence
surge
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In other languages
surge
British English: surge
/sɜːdʒ/ NOUN
A surge is a sudden large increase in something that has previously been steady, or has only increased or developed slowly.
Specialists see various reasons for the recent surge in inflation.
- American English: surge /ˈsɜrdʒ/
- Arabic: اِنْدِفَاع
- Brazilian Portuguese: aumento repentino
- Chinese: 涌流
- Croatian: iznenadan porast
- Czech: prudký vzestup
- Danish: bølge
- Dutch: snelle groei
- European Spanish: subida de tensión
- Finnish: äkillinen nousu
- French: déferlement
- German: Anschwellen
- Greek: αύξηση
- Italian: aumento
- Japanese: 高まり
- Korean: 격동
- Norwegian: plutselig økning
- Polish: spiętrzona fala
- European Portuguese: aumento repentino
- Romanian: creștere bruscă
- Russian: большая волна
- Spanish: subida de tensión
- Swedish: tillströmning
- Thai: การเพิ่มขึ้นอย่างรวดเร็ว
- Turkish: ani yükselme
- Ukrainian: швидке зростання
- Vietnamese: sự tăng lên đột ngột
British English: surge
VERB /sɜːdʒ/
If something surges, it increases suddenly and greatly, after being steady or developing only slowly.
The party's electoral support surged from just under 10 per cent to nearly 17 per cent.
- American English: surge /ˈsɜrdʒ/
- Brazilian Portuguese: aumentar repentinamente
- Chinese: 剧增
- European Spanish: aflorar
- French: monter en flèche
- German: ansteigen
- Italian: aumentare improvvisamente
- Japanese: 急増する
- Korean: 급등하다
- European Portuguese: aumentar repentinamente
- Spanish: aflorar
- Thai: เพิ่มขึ้นอย่างรวดเร็ว
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