resurface

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UK/ɹiːˈsɜːfɪs/US/ɹiːˈsɜɹfɪs/

verb

To come once again to the surface.

“His body finally resurfaced after three years underwater.”

UncommonScrabble 14

Meanings

verbresurface (third-person singular simple present resurfaces, present participle resurfacing, simple past and past participle resurfaced)

present singular third person resurfaces · participle present resurfacing · participle past resurfaced · past resurfaced

  1. intransitiveTo come once again to the surface.

    His body finally resurfaced after three years underwater.

  2. intransitiveTo surface again; to reappear or re-occur.

    The people in hiding now resurfaced in large numbers […]

    2022 August 1, Katja Happe, Barbara Lambauer, Clemens Maier-Wolthausen, Western and Northern Europe June 1942–1945, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, →ISBN, page 465
    4 more examples

    Just as amazing, gruesome morgue photos of some of the madman's street-walker victims also resurfaced after being missing for decades.

    1992 October 27, “Weekly World News”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), page 37

    Subplots that might have been fun to explore were relegated or eventually sidelined altogether in the case of characters like Gendry, who disappeared for years and finally resurfaces as a blacksmith in King’s Landing, literally waiting for the call to his hero’s journey.

    2017 August 13, Brandon Nowalk, “Oldtown offers one last game-changing secret as Game Of Thrones goes behind enemy lines (newbies)”, in The Onion AV Club, archived from the original on 17 Aug 2017

    The Landguard Road overbridge to the south has subsequently been removed, although aspirations to reopen the four-mile route to Ventnor resurface from time to time.

    2022 November 16, Paul Stephen, “Stations earn a deserved NRA ovation: Small: Shanklin”, in RAIL, number 970, page 49

    Anonymity lies at the center of the mythology surrounding the elusive street artist Banksy, but he may have revealed his name in a resurfaced interview.

    2023 November 21, Issy Ronald, “Is this Banksy’s real name? Resurfaced interview suggests it could be”, in CNN
  3. raretransitiveTo make something reappear.

    Hajjar said the initial idea was to resurface retro holiday sweaters, typically featuring reindeer and Christmas trees.

    2015 December 2, Parija Kavilanz, “These ugly Christmas sweaters are worth millions”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 25 Feb 2024
    2 more examples

    Tourian's poem exhibits a central strand of the Catholic tradition which has been suppressed in Armenian religious life but needs to be resurfaced.

    1991 Fall, Vigen Guroian, “Armenian genocide and Christian existence.”, in Cross Currents, volume 41, number 3, page 3322

    Before coronavirus shuttered the world, a typical month for Connecticut native Zac Mathias was packed with appointments for microneedling (a collagen-stimulating process that involves repeated pin-pricks all over the face), regular resurfacing hydrafacials, rejuvenating laser treatments and the occasional red-light therapy session.

    2021 May 6, Leah Dolan, “Teens are worried about wrinkles. Here’s how Gen Z is helping to fuel a beauty boom”, in CNN
  4. transitiveTo provide a new surface, to replace or remodel the surface of something, or to restore a surface. To put a new coating or finish on a surface.

    A zamboni is a big machine that resurfaces ice at a rink so it is smooth as glass for the skaters.

    1 more example

    Both platforms are being resurfaced, and work will take place to improve stepping distances between the platforms and trains.

    2019 November 6, “NR £4m upgrade plan for Keighley”, in Rail, page 10

Origin

  1. Proto-Italic*wre-
  2. Latinre-
  3. Old Frenchre-
  4. Middle Englishre-
  5. Englishre-
  6. Middle Frenchsurface
  7. Englishsurface
  8. Englishresurface

From re- + surface.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian изплувам
  • изплувам (izpluvam)to come once again to the surface
Finnish nousta pintaan, päälystää uudelleen
  • nousta pintaanto come once again to the surface
  • päälystää uudelleento surface once again
  • pinnoittaa uudelleento surface once again
French remonter à la surface
  • remonter à la surfaceto come once again to the surface
Polish wypłynąć
  • wypłynąćto come once again to the surface
Cite this entry
APA

resurface. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resurface

MLA

“resurface.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resurface. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “resurface,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/resurface.

Source: resurface on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.