census

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noun cen·sus \ˈsen(t)-səs\

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

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

Kansas City’s homicide rate is higher than the national rate, which is five per 100,000, according to data from the Kansas City Police Department, census data and FBI crime statistics.

— kelsey ryan and ian cummings, kansascity.com, "Crime statistics reveal Kansas City’s disturbing homicide trend", 2 July 2017
The Census Bureau would receive a 4% boost for its array of censuses and surveys, the same amount Trump has requested.

— david malakoff, Science | AAAS, "House lawmakers balk at most Trump science cuts in early bills", 30 June 2017
The need is only growing: The 2016 census by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority found 46,874 homeless in L.A. County, a 5.7 percent increase from 2015, with about a fourth living in vehicles and encampments.

— dean kuipers, Los Angeles Magazine, "Compassion for Homeless RV Dwellers", 28 June 2017
Amazon’s partnership with El Latino is an attempt to build and serve its customer base among Miami residents, where 68 percent of the population is Hispanic or Latino, according to 2016 census data.

— by andrea januta, miamiherald, "Lusting for pan de bono? Amazon Prime Now’s new Wynwood hub can deliver", 28 June 2017
In parts of the neighborhood a quarter of residents live below poverty level and that figure is as high as 47.5 percent in areas of the north side, according to 2015 census estimates.

— ivan moreno, The Seattle Times, "Long after riots, Milwaukee neighborhood sees little change", 23 June 2017
Phoenix has about 2,800 people per square mile of land, according to 2010 census data, which is on par with smaller cities such as Indianapolis or Fort Worth.

— brenna goth, azcentral, "Phoenix is the nation's 5th largest — but is it a 'real' city?", 11 June 2017
Nearly 6 million U.S. citizen children live with at least one family member in this country illegally, according to estimates from 2009-2013 census data.

— samantha max, Hoy, "Safe from deportation, but not from fear", 7 June 2017
In 2002, Democratic members of the oversight committee sued the administration of President George W. Bush for documents related to the census.

— ben brody, Bloomberg.com, "Democrats Slam Agency Refusal to Provide Trump Hotel Records", 5 June 2017

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

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First Known Use: 1634

See Words from the same year

Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms

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

CENSUS Defined for English Language Learners

census

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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

play

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)