{
  "id": "environment.surroundings",
  "term": "environment",
  "sense": "surroundings",
  "pos": "noun",
  "status": "review",
  "level": 4,
  "arena": "environment",
  "domain": "common",
  "style": null,
  "definition": "the around that a thing is in and the change that can act on it",
  "folk_gloss": null,
  "emergence": {
    "components": [
      "space.extent",
      "matter.substance",
      "change.process",
      "act.deed"
    ],
    "interaction": "space.extent and matter.substance form a context where change.process can unfold through act.deed, enabling dynamic influence on a thing.",
    "novel_properties": [
      "contextual influence",
      "dynamic interaction",
      "spatiotemporal condition"
    ]
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "text": "The International Space Station maintains orbit through periodic reboosts to counter atmospheric drag.",
      "domain": "engineering"
    },
    {
      "text": "Mangrove forests in the Sundarbans trap sediment and dissipate storm surges, shaping coastal resilience.",
      "domain": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "text": "New York City's subway system operates despite groundwater infiltration requiring constant pumping.",
      "domain": "infrastructure"
    }
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "id": "setting.contextual",
      "note": "is-a",
      "type": "is-a"
    },
    {
      "id": "life.biological",
      "note": "enables",
      "type": "enables"
    }
  ],
  "used_by": [
    "environmental.surroundings",
    "obsolete.inactive"
  ],
  "forms": [
    "environment",
    "environments"
  ],
  "closed": true,
  "provenance": {
    "author": "openrouter:openai/gpt-oss-120b",
    "date": "2026-07-29",
    "confidence": 0.6,
    "reconciled": {
      "by": "openrouter:qwen/qwen3-235b-a22b-2507",
      "date": "2026-07-31",
      "changed": "components",
      "note": "Added 'act.deed' to components since the definition depends on the notion of 'act'; interaction and novel properties updated accordingly."
    }
  },
  "canonical": "https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-environment.surroundings"
}