survey

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A set of questions used to find out the opinions or behaviour of a group of people.

   The council ran a survey to learn what residents thought.

2. 2
   verb

   To ask many people questions in order to gather information.

   Researchers surveyed over a thousand students.

3. 3
   verb

   To look carefully at the whole of something.

   She stood on the hill and surveyed the valley below.

4. 4
   noun

   A careful measurement and description of an area of land or a building.

   They ordered a survey before buying the house.

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.

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