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surveying

American  
[ser-vey-ing] / sərˈveɪ ɪŋ /

noun

  1. the science or scientific method of making surveys of land.

  2. the occupation of one who makes land surveys.

  3. the act of one who surveys.

    The surveying required nearly two days.
surveying British  
/ sɜːˈveɪɪŋ /

noun

  1. the study or practice of measuring altitudes, angles, and distances on the land surface so that they can be accurately plotted on a map

  2. the setting out on the ground of the positions of proposed construction or engineering works

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of surveying

1425–75; late Middle English: act of examining closely; see survey, -ing 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Surveying the wreckage of a week of AI disruption Hartnett observes it’s spreading like wildfire: insurance brokers Monday, wealth advisors Tuesday, real-estate services Wednesday and logistics Thursday.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 13, 2026

Surveying the damaged pumping equipment and a grim lake of sewage at the Sheikh Radwan wastewater plant, Fletcher said the task ahead for the UN and aid agencies was a "massive, massive job".

From Barron's • Oct. 18, 2025

Surveying 13,000 people, some of whom I found via my writing about the dress on Slate, I found that people’s assumptions about the light source strongly affected the colors they saw.

From Slate • Feb. 26, 2025

Surveying the badness of our childhood favorites as adults helps us gauge how far we have come as a culture, and how much wonder we’ve shed in exchange for maturity.

From Salon • Dec. 9, 2024

Surveying the skies, I didn’t see any sign of the Sixers, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t already arrived.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.