surprises

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of surprise.

   Life threw several unexpected surprises at them that year.

   The new manager had a couple of unpleasant surprises waiting in the budget.

   Note

   Only the countable uses of the noun take this plural. Unexpected things pile up as surprises, as in a year of surprises or nasty surprises in the budget. So do the messes a pet or toddler leaves in the wrong place. The feeling itself usually stays uncountable: to their surprise, a look of surprise. The same spelling also serves the present-tense verb, and only the sentence around it shows which is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of surprise.

   The ending surprises most viewers who expect a tidy resolution.

   He surprises his colleagues with how calmly he handles a crisis.

   Note

   A verb form that usually needs an object: something surprises someone. It can also stand alone and simply mean causing astonishment, as in little that she says still surprises. A harder, older edge survives as well. An army that surprises a garrison attacks it unawares, and no feeling is implied, only the advantage of not being expected.

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