{
    "term": "surface",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox3000": true,
    "cefr": "b1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "the outside or top layer of something",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We need a **flat**, smooth **surface** to play the game on."
                },
                {
                    "text": "an uneven **road surface**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a broad leaf with a large **surface area**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "**Surface water** *(= rainwater that has collected on the surface of a road)* made driving conditions hazardous."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Teeth have a hard surface layer called enamel."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Smooth the surface with a spatula."
                },
                {
                    "text": "the inner surface of a bone"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the surface layer of the skin"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Colours and Shapes", "Transport by car or lorry"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["even", "flat", "level"],
                "verb + surface": ["come to", "come up to", "reach"],
                "surface + noun": ["area", "level", "layer"],
                "preposition": [
                    "above the surface",
                    "on a/​the surface",
                    "over the surface"
                ],
                "phrases": ["the Earth’s surface", "the surface of the Earth"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "the top layer of an area of water or land",
            "sensetop": "on the surface (of something)below/beneath/under the surface (of something)",
            "cefr": "b1",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "the **earth's surface**"
                },
                {
                    "text": "These plants float on the surface of the water.",
                    "contextForm": "on the surface (of something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "We could see fish swimming just below the surface.",
                    "contextForm": "below/beneath/under the surface (of something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Alligators **lurk beneath the surface **of the swamp."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The earth’s **surface temperature **is rising."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Cracks began to appear in the surface of the earth."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The ball rolled onto the frozen surface of the pond."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The captain brought the submarine to the surface."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The ring slowly sank beneath the surface of the mud pool."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The wind rippled the surface of the lake."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Visible light from the sun passes through the atmosphere to the Earth's surface."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["even", "flat", "level"],
                "verb + surface": ["come to", "come up to", "reach"],
                "surface + noun": ["area", "level", "layer"],
                "preposition": [
                    "above the surface",
                    "on a/​the surface",
                    "over the surface"
                ],
                "phrases": ["the Earth’s surface", "the surface of the Earth"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "the flat upper part of a piece of furniture, that is used for working on",
            "cefr": "b2",
            "ox3000": true,
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "She's cleaned all the kitchen surfaces."
                },
                {
                    "text": "You'll need a large smooth surface for rolling out the pastry."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["even", "flat", "level"],
                "verb + surface": ["come to", "come up to", "reach"],
                "surface + noun": ["area", "level", "layer"],
                "preposition": [
                    "above the surface",
                    "on a/​the surface",
                    "over the surface"
                ],
                "phrases": ["the Earth’s surface", "the surface of the Earth"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "the outer appearance of a person, thing or situation; the qualities that you see or notice, that are not hidden",
            "sensetop": "below/beneath/under the surface (of something)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Rage bubbled just below the surface of his mind.",
                    "contextForm": "below/beneath/under the surface (of something)"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She gives the impression of being rather conventional, but under the surface she is wildly eccentric."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "when not thought about deeply or carefully and completely; when not looked at carefully",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "It seems like a good idea on the surface but there are sure to be problems."
                },
                {
                    "text": "On the surface, he appeared unchanged."
                },
                {
                    "text": "On the surface his words were funny, but I detected a lot of anger behind them."
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to deal with, understand, or find out about only a small part of a subject or problem",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "We left feeling that we had just scratched the surface of this fascinating country."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The investigation barely scratched the surface of the city's drug problem."
                }
            ]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈsɜːfɪs/",
                "audio": "su/surface/surface__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈsɜːrfɪs/",
                "audio": "su/surface/surface__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "early 17th cent.: from French (from sur- and face), suggested by Latin superficies."
}