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of the surrounding area or environment:
The tape recorder picked up too many ambient noises. The temperature in the display case was 20° lower than the ambient temperature.
completely surrounding; encompassing:
the ambient air.
creating a certain reaction or mood, often a subconscious one, by being wherever people tend to be:
ambient advertising on a shopping cart.
pertaining to or noting sounds that create a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere.
pertaining to or noting close and constant social contact and communication fostered by the Internet or the use of digital devices:
social-networking sites that enable ambient intimacy and awareness.
(def 1).
Contemporary Examples

Certainly the Gormley project was making me sensitive to the ambient life of Trafalgar Square.
London’s Living Sculptures Anthony Haden-Guest August 5, 2009

These are hard times, and there’s a lot of ambient anger looking for a target.
Good Candidates, Bad Election David Frum August 7, 2012

They block out all ambient noise and turn your seat into an oasis of silence.
How to Make Your Trip Run Smoothly Jolie Hunt December 31, 2010

“I love Kanye—I met him at a fashion show,” Testino could be heard cooing before the ambient party-noise washed over them.
The Kardashian Hegemony: Mario and Kim Take Hollywood Lloyd Grove February 23, 2013

The office is gloriously quiet, and always nice and cool, given the ambient Seattle climate and the orientation toward the north.
How I Write: Erik Larson Revisits ‘Isaac’s Storm’ Noah Charney October 30, 2012

Historical Examples

The smell of lunch and the cigarette smoke filled the room with an ambient, steamy vapor.
Nana, The Miller’s Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille Emile Zola

He advises you therefore to name the ambient sea for the boundary of your hospital.
The Tatler, Volume 3 Various

She may continue her speech to the ambient air; for, when next she looks up from her larceny of bonbons, Peggy is gone.
Doctor Cupid Rhoda Broughton

An unutterably pure and lofty joy filled my soul, and I felt, as if we were out of the body floating on ambient clouds.
Homo Sum, Complete Georg Ebers

So likewise a little Air blown under the water, is united or thrust into a Bubble by the ambient water.
Micrographia Robert Hooke

adjective
of or relating to the immediate surroundings: the ambient temperature was 15°C
creating a relaxing atmosphere: ambient music
noun
(informal) ambient music
adj.

1590s, “surrounding, encircling,” from Latin ambientem (nominative ambiens) “going round,” present participle of ambire “to go around,” from amb- “around” (see ambi-) + ire “go” (see ion). The ground sense of “revolving” led to “encircling, lying all around.”

ambient am·bi·ent (ām’bē-ənt)
adj.
Surrounding; encircling.