Survey Meaning
/ˈsɜːveɪ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe act of surveying; a general view.
nounA particular view; an examination, especially an official examination, of a particular group of items, in order to ascertain the condition, quantity, or quality.
Sentence Examples
Survey the landscape below.
The results of the survey will be announced in due course.
Click here to add your opinion to the survey.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company conducted a ____ of employee opinions to improve workplace satisfaction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We are conducting a short ____ to find out what people think about the new shopping center in the town today.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Under his proud survey the city lies."
— 1642, John Denham, Cooper's Hill:
"Round he ſurveys, and well might, where he ſtood / So high above[…]"
— 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
"[…]with ſuch alter'd Looks,[…] / All pale, and ſpeechleſs, he ſurvey'd me round;"
— 1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act V, page 66:
"By using the same classification system for all the dictionaries surveyed, it was possible to compare the lexical richness of each against the other."
— 2012, James Lambert, “Beyond Hobson-Jobson: A new lexicography for Indian English”, in World Englishes, page 297:
"The proposed route had been surveyed by George Stephenson and consisted of a main line 41⅝ miles in length with two short branches, to Norbury and Poynton Collieries, and to Chapel-en-le-Frith."
— 1960 March, J. P. Wilson, E. N. C. Haywood, “The route through the Peak - Derby to Manchester: Part One”, in Trains Illustrated, page 148:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The company conducted a ____ of employee opinions to improve workplace satisfaction.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
We are conducting a short ____ to find out what people think about the new shopping center in the town today.