census

noun cen·sus \ ˈsen(t)-səs \

|Updated on: 23 Jun 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

The 2016 census put the population of Etna, California, at 716 — a precipitous 21-person drop since the last count, in 2010.

— joe jackson, San Francisco Chronicle, "One Day, One Place: Etna, California," 8 June 2018
The Commerce Department is responsible for the census.

— larry neumeister, Sun-Sentinel.com, "ACLU sues over plans for citizenship question on 2020 census," 6 June 2018
Besides using them to gauge economic indicators, many rely on them for censuses.

— The Economist, "Plunging response rates to household surveys worry policymakers," 24 May 2018
Census 2020: $151,000 Temporary staff to help with census counting.

— jessica boehm, azcentral, "Phoenix City Council to vote on $4.4B budget that includes more funding for public safety," 21 May 2018
Black people made up 3 percent of the population according to the most recent census, in 2011, many of them clustered in diaspora neighborhoods like New Cross.

— ellen barry, The Seattle Times, "What the royal bride-to-be means to black Londoners," 14 May 2018
Sanders also checked his records for poverty levels gauged for the 1960 census.

— w. gardner selby, San Antonio Express-News, "Did Lupe Valdez really come from the poorest ZIP code in San Antonio?," 9 May 2018
The most recent census conducted by the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2013, showed an average pretrial jail stay in Mississippi of 40 days, the sixth-longest in the country.

— jeff amy, The Christian Science Monitor, "Mississippi's pretrial jail terms among the longest in the nation," 24 Apr. 2018
Aurora Sinai Medical Center has 73 staffed medical or surgical beds and an average daily census of 68 patients, a 93 percent occupancy rate, during the week, according to Aurora Health Care, now part of Advocate Aurora Health.

— guy boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Ascension faces mounting criticism over plan to cut services at St. Joseph hospital," 16 Apr. 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)