Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To relinquish possession or control of (something) to another because of demand or compulsion: synonym: relinquish.
  • intransitive verb To give up in favor of another, especially voluntarily.
  • intransitive verb To give up or abandon.
  • intransitive verb To give over or resign (oneself) to something, as to an emotion.
  • intransitive verb Law To effectuate a surrender of.
  • intransitive verb To submit to the power of another, especially after resisting; give up.
  • noun The act or an instance of surrendering.
  • noun Law The yielding of the possession of an estate to a party with a reversion or remainder interest in the estate, or of a lease to a landlord, prior to the term's expiration.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of surrendering; the act of yielding or resigning the possession of something into the power of another; a yielding or giving up: as, the surrender of a city; the surrender of a claim.
  • noun In insurance, the abandonment of an assurance policy by the party assured on receiving a part of the premiums paid.
  • noun In law: The yielding up of an estate for life, or for years, to him who has the immediate estate in reversion or remainder.
  • noun The giving up of a principal into lawful custody by his bail.
  • noun The delivering up of fugitives from justice by a foreign state; extradition.
  • noun In the former English bankruptcy acts, the due appearance before the commissioners of one whom they had declared a bankrupt, in order that he might conform to the law and submit to examination if necessary.
  • To give back; render again; restore.
  • To give; offer; render.
  • To yield to the power or possession of another; give or deliver up possession of upon compulsion or demand: as, to surrender a fort or a ship.
  • To yield or resign in favor of another; cease to hold or claim; relinquish; resign: as, to surrender a privilege; to surrender an office.
  • In law, to make surrender of. See surrender, n., 3.
  • To yield or give up to any influence, passion, or power: with a reflexive pronoun: as, to surrender one's self to indolence.
  • To yield; give up one's self into the power of another: as, the enemy surrendered at the first summons.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To yield to the power of another; to give or deliver up possession of (anything) upon compulsion or demand.
  • transitive verb To give up possession of; to yield; to resign.
  • transitive verb To yield to any influence, emotion, passion, or power; -- used reflexively.
  • transitive verb (Law) To yield; to render or deliver up; to give up.
  • intransitive verb To give up one's self into the power of another; to yield.
  • noun The act of surrendering; the act of yielding, or resigning one's person, or the possession of something, into the power of another.
  • noun The yielding of a particular estate to him who has an immediate estate in remainder or reversion.
  • noun The giving up of a principal into lawful custody by his bail.
  • noun The delivery up of fugitives from justice by one government to another, as by a foreign state. See Extradition.
  • noun (Insurance) The voluntary cancellation of the legal liability of the company by the insured and beneficiary for a consideration (called the surrender value).

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To give up into the power, control, or possession of another; specifically (Military) to yield (land, a town, etc.) to an enemy.
  • verb intransitive or reflexive To give oneself up into the power of another, especially as a prisoner; to submit or give in to.
  • noun An act of surrendering, submission into the possession of another; abandonment, resignation.
  • noun The yielding or delivery of a possession in response to a demand.
  • noun law, property law The yielding of the leasehold estate by the lessee to the landlord, so that the tenancy for years merges in the reversion and no longer exists.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun acceptance of despair
  • noun a verbal act of admitting defeat
  • noun the delivery of a principal into lawful custody
  • noun the act of surrendering (usually under agreed conditions)
  • verb give up or agree to forgo to the power or possession of another
  • verb relinquish possession or control over

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English surrenderen, from Old French surrendre : sur-, sur- + rendre, to deliver; see render.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Anglo-Norman, representing Old French surrendre, from sur- + rendre ‘render’.

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Examples

  • So often the word surrender is associated with what we have to give up instead of what we get.

    Living on the Edge Chip Ingram 2009

  • The word surrender frightens some because it calls to mind losing a battle or spinelessness.

    THE SURRENDERED SINGLE ALSO BY LAURA DOYLE 2002

  • They don't want to use the term surrender but they are not calling them "peace envoys," a term used by the PKK and affiliated media organizations.

    TODAY'S ZAMAN :: News 2009

  • Minority Leader Mitch McConnell hailed the passage of a bill that did not include what he called surrender dates.

    CNN Transcript May 25, 2007 2007

  • He blamed the Amarnath land controversy in J& K on the Congress-led coalition for what he called surrender to separatists agenda.

    IBN Top Headlines 2008

  • With one tistle-head, and a nettle or two, he could make a soupe for twenty guests — an haunch of a little puppy-dog made a roti des plus excellens; but his coupe de maitre was when the rendition — what you call the surrender, took place and appened; and then, dieu me damme, he made out of the hind quarter of one salted horse, forty-five couverts; that the English and Scottish officers and nobility, who had the honour to dine with Monseigneur upon the rendition, could not tell what the devil any of them were made upon at all.

    The Fortunes of Nigel 2004

  • With one tistle-head, and a nettle or two, he could make a soupe for twenty guests -- an haunch of a little puppy-dog made a roti des plus excellens; but his coupe de maitre was when the rendition -- what you call the surrender, took place and appened; and then, dieu me damme, he made out of the hind quarter of one salted horse, forty-five couverts; that the English and Scottish officers and nobility, who had the honour to dine with Monseigneur upon the rendition, could not tell what the devil any of them were made upon at all.

    The Fortunes of Nigel Walter Scott 1801

  • Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN and Republicans, listen up and listen tight, surrender is not a word any American takes lightly.

    Stephen Herrington: The Invisible Six Point Democratic Lead Stephen Herrington 2010

  • Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC, CNN and Republicans, listen up and listen tight, surrender is not a word any American takes lightly.

    Stephen Herrington: The Invisible Six Point Democratic Lead Stephen Herrington 2010

  • The notion of surrender is of course central to your story, as your title implies.

    Chang-rae Lee - An interview with author 2010

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