# survey

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsɜːveɪ/ · frequency rank #2,091

## Definitions
1. The act of surveying; a general view.
2. A particular view; an examination, especially an official examination, of a particular group of items, in order to ascertain the condition, quantity, or quality.
3. The operation of finding the contour, dimensions, position, or other particulars of any part of the Earth's surface.
4. A measured plan and description of any portion of country.
5. An examination of the opinions of a group of people.
6. A questionnaire or similar instrument used for examining the opinions of a group of people.
7. An auction at which a farm is let for a lease for lives.
8. A district for the collection of customs under a particular officer.

## Etymology
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.

## Easily confused with
- **surveyor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/survey-vs-surveyor)
- **sure** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sure-vs-survey)
- **serve** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serve-vs-survey)
- **surge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surge-vs-survey)
- **suave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/suave-vs-survey)
- **surly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surly-vs-survey)
- **surry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surry-vs-survey)
- **served** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/served-vs-survey)
- **surely** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surely-vs-survey)
- **server** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/server-vs-survey)
- **serves** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/serves-vs-survey)
- **Surrey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surrey-vs-survey)
- **surfer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surfer-vs-survey)
- **Sergey** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sergey-vs-survey)
- **surged** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surged-vs-survey)
- **surety** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surety-vs-survey)
- **scurvy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scurvy-vs-survey)
- **surgery** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/surgery-vs-survey)

## Common misspellings (9)
`sruvey`, `ssurvey`, `surevy`, `surrvey`, `surveyy`, `survvey`, `survye`, `suvrey`, `usrvey`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/survey