surprise.
Something unexpected.
Meaning & usage
Something unexpected.
It was a surprise to find out I owed twice as much as I thought.
It came as a surprise when he succeed.
Something unexpected. A mess of feces, left by a pet or small child in an unexpected place or at an unexpected time.
After the housecleaners drove off, the cat left a surprise for us on the carpet.
The feeling that something unexpected has happened.
Imagine my surprise on learning I owed twice as much as I thought I did.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English surprise, borrowed from Middle French surprise (“an overtake”), nominal use of the past participle of Old French sorprendre (“to overtake”), from sor- (“over”) + prendre (“to take”), from Latin super- + Latin prendere, contracted from prehendere (“to grasp, seize”). Doublet of suppli.
To cause (someone) to feel unusually alarmed or delighted by something unexpected.
It surprises me that I owe twice as much as I thought I did.
To do something to (a person) that they are not expecting, as a surprise.
He doesn’t know that I’m in the country – I thought I’d turn up at his house and surprise him.
My boss surprised me into admitting I left work early last week.
To undergo or witness something unexpected.
He doesn’t surprise easily.
To cause surprise.
To attack unexpectedly.
To take unawares.
I surprised a raccoon scavenging through the garbage last night.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English surprise, borrowed from Middle French surprise (“an overtake”), nominal use of the past participle of Old French sorprendre (“to overtake”), from sor- (“over”) + prendre (“to take”), from Latin super- + Latin prendere, contracted from prehendere (“to grasp, seize”). Doublet of suppli.
Drawing attention to a surprising action by oneself.
"Surprise!" we shouted as we jumped out from the cupboard. "Happy birthday!"
Drawing attention to something that should have been obvious.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English surprise, borrowed from Middle French surprise (“an overtake”), nominal use of the past participle of Old French sorprendre (“to overtake”), from sor- (“over”) + prendre (“to take”), from Latin super- + Latin prendere, contracted from prehendere (“to grasp, seize”). Doublet of suppli.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.