noun
surf
surf
noun
1
The foamy waves that break along a shoreline.
"They watched the surf crash against the rocks at sunset."
"The surf was too rough for swimming that day."
verb
1
To ride ocean waves on a board.
"She learned to surf on a beach in Portugal."
2
To browse casually from one website, channel, or page to another.
"He spent the evening surfing the internet instead of working."
"Don't just surf channels — pick something and watch it."
How to Use Surf
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishBreaking waves at the beach, riding those waves on a board, or casually browsing online.
Common pairings
surf the web
catch the surf
crashing surf
Word Forms
surfed past tense, surfs plural, surfs singular
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Etymology
Origin uncertain, likely from an earlier English word for the rush of waves onto shore. The "browsing the internet" sense was popularized in the 1990s by librarian Jean Armour Polly.