Surface tension is a force.

Surface tension is the force exerted at the surface of the liquid because the intermolecular interactions are very different on one side of the surface (the liquid) and the other side of the surface (the vapor). Surface tension is largest in solvents with large intermolecular interactions like water. The surface tension of solutions is altered from that of pure solvents because additional intermolecular interactions are involved. Surfactants, long organic (hydrophobic) molecules with a polar tail (hydrophilic tail) reduce the surface tension of water because the long organic tails break up many polar and hydrogen bonding interactions between water molecules.

A more quantitative representation of surface tension is available.

Surface tension experiment.

Discussion of wetting agents

Wetting (BASF) [local].