surf

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

surf, n. [Formerly spelled suffe, and probably the same word as E. sough.].

 The swell of the sea which breaks upon the shore, esp. upon a sloping beach.  [1913 Webster]

Surf bird (Zoöl.), a ploverlike bird of the genus Aphriza, allied to the turnstone. -- Surf clam (Zoöl.), a large clam living on the open coast, especially Mactra solidissima (syn. Spisula solidissima). See Mactra. -- Surf duck (Zoöl.), any one of several species of sea ducks of the genus Oidemia, especially Oidemia percpicillata; -- called also surf scoter. See the Note under Scoter. -- Surf fish (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of California embiotocoid fishes. See Embiotocoid. -- Surf smelt. (Zoöl.) See Smelt. -- Surf whiting. (Zoöl.) See under Whiting.

surf, n. 

 The bottom of a drain.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

surf, n. & v.
--n.
1 the swell of the sea breaking on the shore or reefs.
2 the foam produced by this.
--v.intr. go surf-riding.

Idiom

surf-casting fishing by casting a line into the sea from the shore. surf-riding the sport of being carried over the surf to the shore on a surfboard.

Derivative

surfer n. surfy adj.

Etymology

app. f. obs. suff, perh. assim. to surge: orig. applied to the Indian coast

THESAURUS

surf

billow, bore, breakers, chop, choppiness, chopping sea, collar, comb, comber, dirty water, eagre, foam, froth, gravity wave, ground swell, head, heave, heavy sea, heavy swell, lather, lift, lop, meringue, mousse, offscum, peak, popple, puff, riffle, ripple, rise, roll, roller, rough water, scend, scud, scum, sea, sea foam, send, soapsuds, souffle, spindrift, spoondrift, spray, spume, stinging, suds, surge, swell, tidal bore, tidal wave, tide wave, trough, tsunami, undulation, water wave, wave, wavelet, white horses, white water, whitecaps

ROGET THESAURUS

surf

River

N river, running water, jet, spirt, spurt, squirt, spout, spray, splash, rush, gush, jet d'eau, sluice, water spout, water fall, cascade, force, foss, lin, linn, ghyll, Niagara, cataract, rapids, white water, catadupe, cataclysm, debacle, inundation, deluge, chute, washout, rain, rainfall, serein, shower, scud, downpour, driving rain, drenching rain, cloudburst, hyetology, hyetography, predominance of Aquarius, reign of St. Swithin, mizzle, drizzle, stillicidum, plash, dropping, falling weather, northeaster, hurricane, typhoon, stream, course, flux, flow, profluence, effluence, defluxion, flowing, current, tide, race, coulee, spring, artesian well, fount, fountain, rill, rivulet, gill, gullet, rillet, streamlet, brooklet, branch, runnel, sike, burn, beck, creek, brook, bayou, stream, river, reach, tributary, geyser, spout, waterspout, body of water, torrent, rapids, flush, flood, swash, spring tide, high tide, full tide, bore, tidal bore, eagre, hygre, fresh, freshet, indraught, reflux, undercurrent, eddy, vortex, gurge, whirlpool, Maelstrom, regurgitation, overflow, confluence, corrivation, wave, billow, surge, swell, ripple, anerythmon gelasma, beach comber, riffle, rollers, ground swell, surf, breakers, white horses, whitecaps, rough sea, heavy sea, high seas, cross sea, long sea, short sea, chopping sea, hydrodynamics, hydraulics, hydraulicostatics, rain gauge, flowmeter, pegology, irrigation, pump, watering pot, watering cart, hydrant, syringe, garden hose, lawn spray, bhisti, mussuk, fluent, diffluent, profluent, affluent, tidal, flowing, meandering, meandry, meandrous, fluvial, fluviatile, streamy, showery, rainy, pluvial, stillicidous, stillatitious, for men may come and men may go but I go on foreve, that old man river, he just keeps rolling along.

Bubble

N bubble; cloud, bubble, foam, froth, head, spume, lather, suds, spray, surf, yeast, barm, spindrift, cloud, vapor, fog, mist, haze, steam, geyser, scud, messenger, rack, nimbus, cumulus, woolpack, cirrus, stratus, cirrostratus, cumulostratus, cirrocumulus, mackerel sky, mare's tale, dirty sky, curl cloud, frost smoke, thunderhead, nephelognosy, nephograph, nephology, effervescence, fermentation, bubbling, nebula, cloudliness, nebulosity, bubbling, frothy, nappy, effervescent, sparkling, mousseux, frothy, up, cloudy, thunderheaded, vaporous, nebulous, overcast, the lowring element scowls o'er the darkened lands.