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
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
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
25 June 2026
Ahead of the games, athlete delegations are surveyed about their interest in participating, and they’re then assigned to available seats once aircraft volunteer rosters are finalized, according to Textron Aviation.
—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
During a 2002 visitor survey, though, the majority of day-use visitors reported hiking 10 miles or less, and the most common distance hiked was 5 miles, Patterson reports.
—
Jamie Siebrase,
Denver Post,
26 June 2026
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
The court ruling means that the question will not be on the November ballot even though a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll last week found that 66% of voters surveyed favored it.
—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
25 June 2026
Ahead of the games, athlete delegations are surveyed about their interest in participating, and they’re then assigned to available seats once aircraft volunteer rosters are finalized, according to Textron Aviation.
—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
25 June 2026
Noun
Nationally, the survey found that 43% of respondents always or usually discard food near or past the date on the label, up from 37% in 2016.
—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
26 June 2026
During a 2002 visitor survey, though, the majority of day-use visitors reported hiking 10 miles or less, and the most common distance hiked was 5 miles, Patterson reports.
—
Jamie Siebrase,
Denver Post,
26 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for survey
Cite this Entry
“Survey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/survey. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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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