census

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   An official government count of all the people in a country, usually recording age, job, and other details.

   Grammar: Countable: one census, two censuses. The plural is 'censuses', not 'censi'.

   Patterns

   • conduct a census
   • the census records something
   • a census of something

   The government conducts a census every ten years.

   According to the last census, the town's population has grown by 12 percent.

   Census records from 1900 are now available online.

2. 2nouncountable

   A complete count or survey of a particular group or thing, not always by a government.

   Grammar: Used with 'of' to name what is counted: a census of birds, a census of opinions.

   Patterns

   • a census of something
   • take a census of something

   Volunteers carried out a census of the wildflower population in the meadow.

   The company took a census of employee satisfaction last month.

Word forms

Common combinations

census data

Census data show a shift toward cities.

census form

Every household must fill out a census form.

census bureau

The census bureau released new figures yesterday.

take a census

Officials will take a census of the homeless population.

national census

The national census is used to allocate funding.

Synonyms and how they differ

survey

A survey can be informal or cover only a sample; a census aims to count everyone.

count

Count is the general act of numbering; census is the official, detailed procedure.

enumeration

Enumeration is a formal, technical word for listing items one by one; census is the everyday term for a population count.

Word family

census taker noun

A person employed to collect census information.

Commonly confused: census or censure?

Practice

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