survey
UK /ˈsɜːveɪ/ · US /ˈsɝˌveɪ/ noun, verb
Forms surveys surveying surveyed
- noun The act of surveying; a general view.
- noun A particular view; an examination, especially an official examination, of a particular group of items, in order to ascertain the condition, quantity, or quality. “A survey of the stores of a ship; a survey of roads and bridges; a survey of buildings.”
- noun The operation of finding the contour, dimensions, position, or other particulars of any part of the Earth's surface.
- noun A measured plan and description of any portion of country. “The owners of the adjoining plots had conflicting surveys.”
- noun An examination of the opinions and/or information of a group of people. “The local council conducted a survey of its residents to help it decide whether to go ahead with the roadside waste collection service.”
- noun A questionnaire or similar instrument used for examining the opinions and/or information of a group of people. “I just filled out that survey on roadside waste pick-up.”
- noun (historical) An auction at which a farm is let for a lease for lives.
- noun (US) A district for the collection of customs under a particular officer.
- verb To inspect, or take a view of; to view with attention, as from a high place; to overlook “He stood on a hill, and surveyed the surrounding country.”
- verb To view with a scrutinizing eye; to examine.
- verb To examine with reference to condition, situation, value, etc.; to examine and ascertain the state of “It was his job to survey buildings in order to determine their value and risks.”
- verb To determine the form, extent, position, etc., of, as a tract of land, a coast, harbor, or the like, by means of linear and angular measurements, and the application of the principles of geometry and trigonometry “to survey land or a coast”
- verb To examine and ascertain, as the boundaries and royalties of a manor, the tenure of the tenants, and the rent and value of the same.
- verb To investigate the opinions, experiences, etc., of people by asking them questions; to conduct a survey; to administer a questionnaire.
Synonyms
prospect surveil review overlook look over luster lustrate circularize study sketch resume view sight appraise follow go over
Etymology
From Middle English surveyen, from Old French sourveoir, surveer (“to oversee”), from sour-, sur- (“over”) + veoir, veeir (“to see”), from Latin videre. See sur- and vision. Related to supervision.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To inspect, or take a view of; to view with attention, as from a high place; to overlook; as, to stand on a hill, and survey the surrounding country.
- verb To view with a scrutinizing eye; to examine.
- noun The act of surveying; a general view, as from above.
- noun A particular view; an examination, especially an official examination, of all the parts or particulars of a thing, with a design to ascertain the condition, quantity, or quality; as, a survey of the stores of a ship; a survey of roads and bridges; a survey of buildings.
Etymology [OF. surveoir, surveer; sur, sor, over, E. sur + veoir, veeir, to see, F. voir, L. videre. See Sur-, and Vision, and cf. Supervise.]
Etymology [Formerly accentuated universally on the last syllable, and still so accented by many speakers.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “survey”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details