loaded to excess or impeded by a heavy load; "a summer resort...encumbered with great clapboard-and-stucco hotels"- A.J.Liebling; "a hiker encumbered with a heavy backpack"; "an encumbered estate"
the outer boundary of an artifact or a material layer constituting or resembling such a boundary; "there is a special cleaner for these surfaces"; "the cloth had a pattern of red dots on a white surface"
a superficial aspect as opposed to the real nature of something; "it was not what it appeared to be on the surface"
the extended two-dimensional outer boundary of a three-dimensional object; "they skimmed over the surface of the water"; "a brush small enough to clean every dental surface"; "the sun has no distinct surface"
the outermost level of the land or sea; "earthquakes originate far below the surface"; "three quarters of the Earth's surface is covered by water"
a small elite group; "it was designed for the discriminating few"
an indefinite but relatively small number; "they bought a case of beer and drank a few"
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by `a'; a small but indefinite number; "a few weeks ago"; "a few more wagons than usual"; "an invalid's pleasures are few and far between"; "few roses were still blooming"; "few women have led troops in battle"
in full control of your faculties; "the witness remained collected throughout the cross-examination"; "perfectly poised and sure of himself"; "more self-contained and more dependable than many of the early frontiersmen"; "strong and self-possessed in the face of trouble"
brought together in one place; "the collected works of Milton"; "the gathered folds of the skirt"
(chemistry) a process in which one substance permeates another; a fluid permeates or is dissolved by a liquid or solid
(physics) the process in which incident radiated energy is retained without reflection or transmission on passing through a medium; "the absorption of photons by atoms or molecules"
having finished or arrived at completion; "certain to make history before he's done"; "it's a done deed"; "after the treatment, the patient is through except for follow-up"; "almost through with his studies"