surface area

noun

: the amount of area covered by the surface of something
The lake has roughly the same surface area as 10 football fields.

Examples of surface area in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
When a piece of plastic breaks down into microscopically small components, its total surface area goes up exponentially. — Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2026 High-pressure cooling channels run vertically along the side walls of each cell to create a much larger surface area for heat exchange. — New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026 The intestinal villi provide a large surface area while allowing nutrients to move across relatively short distances. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026 The same mass of plastic broken into nanoparticles has far more surface area, which might make the effect larger. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for surface area

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Surface area.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surface%20area. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!