verb / noun · neutral

surge

UK/sɜːdʒ/US/sɜːrdʒ/SURGE

task1speaking

a sudden large increase (verb: to increase suddenly and strongly)

Examples

There was a surge in online orders after the advertisement aired.

Tourist numbers surged during the summer months.

A surge of interest in electric cars was recorded last year.

Band 8 sentence

Passenger numbers surged after the low-cost carrier launched its new routes, pushing annual demand to record levels.

Collocations

  • a surge in
  • surge to
  • surge by

Word family

surge nounsurge verbsurging adj/verb

Common mistakes

a surge unemploymenta surge in unemployment

Prices surged up by 10%.Prices surged by 10%.

Say it for a higher band

5increase sharply6rise sharply7+surge

Synonyms

spike

soar

Easily confused

spike

There was a spike in electricity demand during the heatwave.

Related words

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In Peaks & troughs

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