survey
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A particular view.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
servaySay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
sɚˈveɪ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
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 questionnaire or similar instrument used for examining the opinions of a group of people.
The act of looking or seeing or observing
The operation of finding the contour, dimensions, position, or other particulars of any part of the Earth's surface.
us
A district for the collection of customs under a particular officer.
The act of surveying; a general view.
verb
To investigate the opinions, experiences, etc., of people by asking them questions; to conduct a survey; to administer a questionnaire.
To inspect, or take a view of; to view with attention, as from a high place; to overlook
To view with a scrutinizing eye; to examine.
To examine with reference to condition, situation, value, etc.; to examine and ascertain the state of
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.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A particular view; an examination, especially an official examination, of a particular group of items, in order to ascertain the condition, quantity, or quality.
Used this way, survey is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Official and authoritative
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use survey
- “I just filled out that survey on roadside waste pick-up.”noun
- “He stood on a hill, and surveyed the surrounding country.”verb
- “It was his job to survey buildings in order to determine their value and risks.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The practice of measuring angles and distances on the ground so that they can be accurately plotted on a map.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A U.S. unit of measure equal to 1609.347 meters.
An instrument used by surveyors.
Exploring in order to gain information.
The official cartography agency of the British government.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Surveying instrument consisting basically of a small telescope with an attached spirit level rotating around a vertical axis.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.