surfing

noun

surf·​ing ˈsər-fiŋ How to pronounce surfing (audio)
Synonyms of surfingnext
: the sport of riding the surf especially on a surfboard

Examples of surfing in a Sentence

Her hobbies include diving and surfing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The gripping first season chronicles the rise of Nazaré from a sleepy fishing village to one of the most high-profile and death-defying surfing destinations in the world and season two continues the story with even more dizzying visuals (giant waves are filmed by drone). — Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 7 Mar. 2025 Apple claims that both the iPad and iPad Air will get up to 10 hours of battery life over Wi-Fi with web surfing and video streaming. — PCMAG, 5 Mar. 2025 The design of the skatepark itself is defined by flowing, continuous curves inspired by ocean waves, highlighting the connection between skateboarding and surfing. — Bridget Borgobello, New Atlas, 23 Feb. 2025 In the 1970s, Kem McNair and Charley Baldwin put the relatively unknown town on the map by winning East Coast surfing titles. — Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 20 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for surfing

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of surfing was in 1926

Phrases Containing surfing

Rhymes for surfing

See All Rhymes for surfing

Browse Nearby Words

surfing
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surfing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surfing. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

surfing

noun
surf·​ing ˈsər-fiŋ How to pronounce surfing (audio)
: the sport of riding the surf especially on a surfboard

More from Merriam-Webster on surfing

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for surfing

Nglish: Translation of surfing for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about surfing

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All