(surprises, surprising, surprised)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A surprise is an unexpected event, fact, or piece of news.
I have a surprise for you: We are moving to Switzerland!...
It may come as a surprise to some that a normal, healthy child is born with many skills...
It is perhaps no surprise to see another 60s singing star attempting a comeback.
N-COUNT: oft N to n
•
Surprise is also an adjective.
Baxter arrived here this afternoon, on a surprise visit...
ADJ: ADJ n
2.
Surprise is the feeling that you have when something unexpected happens.
The Foreign Office in London has expressed surprise at these allegations...
'You mean he's going to vote against her?' Scobie asked in surprise...
I started working hard for the first time in my life. To my surprise, I found I liked it.
N-UNCOUNT
3.
If something surprises you, it gives you a feeling of surprise.
We'll solve the case ourselves and surprise everyone...
It surprised me that a driver of Alain's experience should make those mistakes...
It wouldn't surprise me if there was such chaos after this election that another had to be held...
They were served lamb and rosemary and she surprised herself by eating greedily.
VERB: V n, it V n that/if, it V n that/if, V pron-refl
4.
If you surprise someone, you give them, tell them, or do something pleasant that they are not expecting.
Surprise a new neighbour with one of your favourite home-made dishes.
VERB: V n with n
5.
If you describe someone or something as a surprise, you mean that they are very good or pleasant although you were not expecting this.
...Senga MacFie, one of the surprises of the World Championships three months ago...
N-COUNT
6.
If you surprise someone, you attack, capture, or find them when they are not expecting it.
Marlborough led his armies across the Rhine and surprised the French and Bavarian armies near the village of Blenheim.
VERB: V n
7.
8.
If something takes you by surprise, it happens when you are not expecting it or when you are not prepared for it.
His question took his two companions by surprise...
PHRASE: V inflects