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surrender definition

sur·ren·der (sə ren′dər)

transitive verb

  1. to give up possession of or power over; yield to another on demand or compulsion
  2. to give up claim to; give over or yield, esp. voluntarily, as in favor of another
  3. to give up or abandon surrendering all hope
  4. to yield or resign (oneself) to an emotion, influence, etc.

Etymology: ME surrendren < MFr surrendre < sur-, up (see sur-) + rendre, to render

intransitive verb

  1. to give oneself up to another's power or control, esp. as a prisoner
  2. to give in (to) to surrender to temptation

noun

  1. the act of surrendering, yielding, or giving up, over, or in
  2. Insurance the voluntary abandonment of a policy by an insured person in return for a cash payment (surrender value), thus freeing the company of liability

Etymology: LME < MFr surrendre, inf. used as n.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business surrender definition - business

law surrender definition - legal

surrender Synonyms

surrender

n.

capitulation, yielding, giving up, submission, giving way, unconditional surrender, white flag, cessation, abandonment, relinquishment, acquiescence, abdication, resignation, delivery.


surrender

v.

  1. To accept defeat

    capitulate, quit, give in; see yield 1.

  2. To relinquish possession

    give up, let go, resign, abdicate; see abandon 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

surrender Usage Examples

Object

  • sovereignty: There will, of course, be inevitable clashes between global standards and local diversity, between autonomy and surrendering sovereignty.

Converse of object

  • negotiate: As the only officer in town, he had little choice but to negotiate the surrender of the garrison of heavily armed SS troops.

Preposition: at

  • discretion: The people of the town, seized with terror, offered to surrender at discretion.

Adjective modifier

  • unconditional: Once the line is crossed, it becomes a de facto fight to the finish with no alternative except unconditional surrender.

Modifies a noun

  • monkey: Cheese eating surrender monkeys, good. [ And there's no point kidding the French... they had an Empire once.. .

Modifying Another Word

  • unconditionally: You either force your government to surrender unconditionally to every demand we make, or we'll slaughter these children.

Preposition: of

  • sovereignty: They will ask for the keys, for the surrender of sovereignty.
surrender usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

surrender quotes

Atfifteenlifehadtaught meundeniably that surrender, in its place, was as honorable as resistance, especially if one had no choice.

-Angelou, Maya originally MayaJohnson

La Garde meurt, mais ne se rend pas. The Guards die but do not surrender.

-Cambronne, Pierre, Baron de

We shall not flag or fail.We shall go on to the end.We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island whatever the cost may be.We shall fight on the beaches, weshall fight onthelanding grounds, weshall fight inthe fields and in thestreets, we shall fight inthehills.We shall never surrender.

-Churchill, Lord Randolph Henry Spencer

surrender quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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"surrender." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/surrender>

APA Style

surrender. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/surrender

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