surveyed; surveying
1
a
: to examine as to condition, situation, or value : appraise
b
: to query (someone) in order to collect data for the analysis of some aspect of a group or area
2
: to determine and delineate the form, extent, and position of (such as a tract of land) by taking linear and angular measurements and by applying the principles of geometry and trigonometry
3
: to view or consider comprehensively
4
: inspect, scrutinize
he surveyed us in a lordly way—
Alan Harrington
Alan Harrington
: to make a survey
plural surveys
1
2
: something that is surveyed
Synonyms
Examples of survey in a Sentence
Verb
A total of 250 city residents were surveyed about the project.
64 percent of the people surveyed said that the economy was doing well.
The teacher surveyed the room.
People were surveying the damage after the storm.
Engineers surveyed the property to see what could be built on it.
Noun
The survey found some surprising tendencies among the population.
We conducted an opinion survey on the issue and found that most people agree.
a survey on American drinking habits
Surveys of each department were conducted earlier this year.
A survey of recent corporate layoffs reveals a new trend in business management.
A new land survey changed the borders of their property.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jesse Pound,sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024
Data For Progress surveyed 1,079 likely voters in Arizona.
—Stephanie Murray, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
The Slack survey found a slight increase in AI usage, up one percentage point between March and August 2024 for US respondents (32% to 33%).
—Emily Dreibelbis Forlini, PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for survey 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones were expecting a reading of 53.7.
—Jesse Pound,sawdah Bhaimiya, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024
Data For Progress surveyed 1,079 likely voters in Arizona.
—Stephanie Murray, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
In the survey, 13% ranked Porter, who lost a bid for U.S. Senate in the March primary election to fellow Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey, as their first or second choice for governor.
—Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024
The Slack survey found a slight increase in AI usage, up one percentage point between March and August 2024 for US respondents (32% to 33%).
—Emily Dreibelbis Forlini, PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for survey
Dictionary Entries Near survey
Cite this Entry
“Survey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/survey. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
survey
1 of 2 verb
sur·vey
sər-ˈvā 
ˈsər-ˌvā
surveyed; surveying
1
: to look over and examine closely
2
: to find out the size, shape, and position of (as an area of land)
3
: to gather information from or about
4
: to make a survey
survey
2 of 2 noun
sur·vey
ˈsər-ˌvā
sər-ˈvā
plural surveys
: the act or an instance of surveying or of applying the principles and methods of surveying
also
: something that is surveyed
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