surrender
sur·ren·der/səˈɹɛndə(ɹ)/verb, noun
surrender is spelled S-U-R-R-E-N-D-E-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables (sur·ren·der). It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, surrender means “To give up into the power, control, or possession of another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in surrender?
| Letters | 9: S-U-R-R-E-N-D-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: sur·ren·der |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,138th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is surrender?
Surrender appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,138th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce surrender?
- /səˈɹɛndə(ɹ)/
- /səˈɹɛndɚ/
Surrender has 3 syllables, split sur·ren·der in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-surrender.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of surrender
- surrenders present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- surrendering participle, present
- surrendered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does surrender mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To give up into the power, control, or possession of another.
- 2
To yield (a town, a fortification, etc.) to an enemy.
- 3
To give oneself up into the power of another, especially as a prisoner; to submit or give in.
Don't shoot! I surrender!
- 4
To give up possession of; to yield; to resign.
to surrender a right, privilege, or advantage
- 5
To yield (oneself) to an influence, emotion, passion, etc.
to surrender oneself to grief, to despair, to indolence, or to sleep
- 6
To abandon (one's hand of cards) and recover half of the initial bet.
- 7
For a policyholder, to voluntarily terminate an insurance contract before the end of its term, usually with the expectation of receiving a surrender value.
noun
- 1
An act of surrendering, submission into the possession of another; a feeling of abandonment and resignation; the deliberate cessation of struggle over outcomes.
- 2
The yielding or delivery of a possession in response to a demand.
- 3
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Surrender in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | capituler , se rendre , capitulation, reddition |
| Portuguese | render, entregar , render-se, entregar-se, capitular , rendição |
| Spanish | entregar, rendir, abandonar , rendirse, capitular, claudicar |
| German | kapitulieren, sich ergeben , Kapitulation, Ergebung, Ergeben, Aufgeben |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does surrender come from?
From Middle English surrendren, from Old French surrendre, from sur- + rendre (“render”). Displaced native Old English on hand gān.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).