census

[sen-suhs]

noun

plural

censuses 

1. an official enumeration of the population, with details as to age, sex or gender, occupation, etc.

2. (in ancient Rome) the registration of citizens and their property, for purposes of taxation.

verb (used with object)

1. to take a census of (a country, city, etc.).

   The entire nation is censused every 10 years.

census

/ ˈsɛnsəs /

noun

1. an official periodic count of a population including such information as sex, age, occupation, etc

2. any offical count

   a traffic census

3. (in ancient Rome) a registration of the population and a property evaluation for purposes of taxation

Other Word Forms

• censual adjective
• precensus noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of census¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin: “a listing and property assessment of citizens,” equivalent to cēns(ēre) “to assess, register (citizens) in a census” + -tus suffix of verb action; for -s- in place of -st- censor

Word History and Origins

Origin of census¹

C17: from Latin, from cēnsēre to assess

Example Sentences

Hundreds of Indigenous groups live in Brazil, according to the country's census.

Read more on BBC

President Emmanuel Macron’s administration is currently scrambling to take a census of the country’s most valuable artworks to determine which cultural sites will get reinforced first.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Mr Teltumbde sees the modern caste census as a colonial echo.

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First Minister John Swinney has pledged to get numbers back to 2023 levels – 54,033 – so all eyes will be on the annual teacher census statistics when they are released next month.

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Meanwhile, roughly two-thirds of U.S. households homes are owner-occupied, according to census data, making threats to home prices an issue for homeowners’ finances.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• enumeration 
• poll