census

noun cen·sus \ ˈsen(t)-səs \

|Updated on: 4 Aug 2018

Examples: census in a Sentence

Definition of census

1 : a count of the population and a property evaluation in early Rome

2 : a usually complete enumeration of a population; specifically : a periodic governmental enumeration of population

According to the latest U.S census, 16% of the population is of Hispanic or Latino origin.

3 : count, tally

a census of deer in a game refuge

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census

transitive verb

See census defined for English-language learners

See census defined for kids

Examples of census in a Sentence

According to the latest census, the racial makeup of the town has changed dramatically in the last 50 years.
a thorough census of all the grizzly bears living within the national park

Recent Examples of census from the Web

For more information, and to participate in the census, visit blackcensus.org.

— Essence.com, "A New Project By Black Lives Matter Cofounder Alicia Garza Wants To Harness Our Political Power," 17 May 2018
Italianate in style and faced with orange brick, the rowhouse offered a first-floor storefront with bedrooms above for Jacob and his wife, Maria, two sons, a daughter and boarder, all recorded in the 1910 census.

— tim prudente, baltimoresun.com, "Collapse: The rise and deadly fall of a Baltimore rowhouse," 12 July 2018
That enabled me to see how they are being listed in the census and get a picture of their ages and work conditions.

— National Geographic, "Why the Short-Lived Pony Express Still Fascinates Us," 23 June 2018
The city, which had a population of 1,568 in the 2010 census, will be the site of the first temporary shelters constructed for migrant children who have been separated from their parents after entering the country without authorization.

— dianna m. náñez, azcentral, "Phoenix church hosts Father's Day rally to protest immigration policy separating migrant families," 16 June 2018
Shortly after, a dozen states vying to remove the question which had not used in a census since 1950 sued the government.

— fernando ramirez, Houston Chronicle, "Why a Houston lawmaker is helping sue the U.S. census as a plaintiff," 4 June 2018
About 80% of Irish people described themselves as Catholic in the last census in 2016.

— kim hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, "Analysis: Irish abortion vote reflects a new Ireland (that isn't so new)," 27 May 2018
Its population was about 52,000 in the 2010 census.

— chris harris, PEOPLE.com, "13-Year-Old Girl and Teacher Injured in Indiana Middle School Shooting as Student, 13, Is Suspect," 25 May 2018
The heated national debate over how to treat non-citizens in the 2020 census has made its way to Missouri and could affect the way the state redraws its legislative districts.

— allison kite, kansascity, "Only citizens could be counted to draw legislative districts, per Missouri House bill | The Kansas City Star," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'census.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of census

borrowed from Latin cēnsus, from cēnsēre "to give as an opinion, assess, appraise, perform the duties of a censor" + -tus, suffix of verbal action — more at ¹censor

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1634

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

census Synonyms

Synonyms

count, tale, tally;

Related Words

score;

amount, gross, sum, total, whole;

recount;

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

abscissa, denominator, divisor, equilateral, exponent, hypotenuse, logarithm, oblique, radii, rhomb

CENSUS Defined for English Language Learners

census

noun

Definition of census for English Language Learners

: the official process of counting the number of people in a country, city, or town and collecting information about them

CENSUS Defined for Kids

census

noun cen·sus \ ˈsen-səs \

Definition of census for Students

: a count of the number of people in a country, city, or town

Law Dictionary

census

noun cen·sus

legal Definition of census

: a usually complete count of a population (as of a state); especially : a periodic governmental count of a population that usually includes social and economic information (as occupations, ages, and incomes)