surrender

surrender — verb

1. to tell an enemy or opponent that you will stop resisting because you cannot win

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to tell an enemy or opponent that you will stop resisting because you cannot win, and to place yourself under their control

Example

After being surrounded for weeks, the soldiers finally surrendered to the enemy army.

surrender + to + [enemy]: the standard pattern

General Quan surrendered after his troops ran out of food and water.

Common collocations
  • surrender to the enemy
  • surrender to the police
  • refuse to surrender
  • forced to surrender
  • surrender unconditionally
Synonyms
  • give up

    more general; can apply to any activity or goal, not just fighting

  • yield

    more formal; often implies giving way to superior force or argument

  • capitulate

    more formal; suggests a formal, negotiated act of surrender

Antonyms
  • resist

    to keep fighting or opposing

  • fight on

    phrasal verb meaning to continue fighting

Grammar Patterns

surrender + to + [enemy/opponent]

surrender + oneself + to + [enemy]

Usage Note

Passive forms are common in news and historical reports: 'The city was surrendered without a fight.' The subject is usually a group (army, nation, rebels) rather than an individual acting alone.

Common Mistakes

The team surrendered the game in the last minute.
The team lost the game in the last minute.
In sports, use 'lose' or 'give up'; 'surrender' is for military or conflict contexts.
He surrendered to go to prison.
He surrendered himself to the police.
'Surrender' cannot be followed directly by a to-infinitive of purpose.

2. to allow a strong feeling, desire, or physical state to take control of you inst

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to allow a strong feeling, desire, or physical state to take control of you instead of continuing to resist or hold it back

Example

After months of grief, Charlotte finally surrendered to her sadness and let herself cry.

surrender + to + [emotion]: giving in to a feeling

Rin surrendered to the beat of the music and danced without caring who watched.

Common collocations
  • surrender to temptation
  • surrender to despair
  • surrender to panic
  • surrender to exhaustion
Synonyms
  • give in to

    more common in everyday speech; less formal

  • succumb to

    more formal; often used for illness, pressure, or temptation

Antonyms
  • resist

    to fight against a feeling or desire

  • withstand

    to remain strong against pressure or temptation

Grammar Patterns

surrender + to + [emotion/experience/desire]

Usage Note

Always followed by to + a noun phrase that names the emotion, desire, or experience. Cannot take a direct object — you surrender TO something, not surrender something.

Common Mistakes

She surrendered the temptation to eat the cake.
She surrendered to the temptation and ate the cake.
Use 'surrender to', not 'surrender' as a transitive verb, when giving in to a feeling or desire.

3. to hand over an object, document, or right to someone who demands it because you

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to hand over an object, document, or right to someone who demands it because you are required to by law, threat, or official order

Example

The company was ordered to surrender its financial records to the tax office.

passive: be ordered to surrender [sth] to [authority]

Rachel surrendered her passport at the embassy as part of the visa application process.

surrender + [document] + to + [institution]

Common collocations
  • surrender a passport
  • surrender documents
  • surrender territory
  • surrender control
  • surrender assets
Synonyms
  • hand over

    less formal; common in everyday speech

  • turn in

    used for documents, tickets, or ID cards; informal

  • relinquish

    more formal; suggests giving up something unwillingly or with regret

Antonyms
  • keep

    to continue to hold or possess

  • hold on to

    phrasal verb meaning to keep something

Grammar Patterns

surrender + [something] + to + [someone/authority]

Usage Note

The object is typically a physical item (passport, weapon, keys, documents) or an abstract right (territory, control, claim). Frequently used in legal, administrative, and official contexts. The giver is usually in a weaker position and has no real choice.

Common Mistakes

He surrendered his girlfriend to her parents.
He let his girlfriend go back to her parents.
'Surrender' is for objects, documents, or rights; use 'let go of' or 'send back' for people in personal relationships.
Phrasal verbs

surrender to

phrasal verb

To stop fighting or resisting and accept that you cannot win.

After a long battle, the soldiers had to surrender to the enemy.

Did the thief surrender to the police when they arrived?

surrender yourself to

phrasal verb

To allow yourself to be completely controlled by a feeling or activity.

Maya decided to surrender herself to the joy of dancing.

He surrendered himself to grief after losing his job.

surrender — noun

Word family

  • surrendering
    nounC1
  • surrendered
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Give up is the most general and informal of these words — you can give up a habit, a game, or a plan, not just a fight. Yield is more formal and implies giving way to superior force, pressure, or argument; it can also be used in non-military contexts like traffic ('yield to oncoming cars'). Submit specifically suggests accepting the authority or control of another person or system, often in a bureaucratic or power-based relationship. Capitulate is the most formal and dramatic, carrying a sense of formally agreeing to stop resisting, often after a prolonged struggle. Surrender is the most common word in military and emotional contexts, carrying a sense of handing oneself over into another's power. For example, a soldier surrenders to the enemy; you give up smoking; a driver yields at a stop sign; a citizen submits an application; and a government capitulates to rebel demands.

give up ↗yield ↗submit ↗capitulate

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • refuse to surrender
  • force to surrender
  • call for surrender
  • demand surrender
  • surrender without a fight

Prepositions

Etymology

Old FrenchAnglo-NormanEnglish

Surrender comes from Old French 'surrendre', a combination of 'sur-' (over, above) and 'rendre' (to give back). In medieval times, it meant to give something back or hand it over to someone in authority. By the 1400s, the word developed its military meaning of stopping a fight and giving oneself up to the enemy's power. The emotional sense — giving in to a feeling — developed much later, in the 1800s.