The act of surveying; a general view.
"Standing on the hill, she took in a sweeping survey of the valley below."
In plain English: A survey is a list of questions asked to many people to find out what they think or do.
"Before renovating the kitchen, we hired an expert to conduct a full survey of the house."
make a survey of; for statistical purposes
"The researchers distributed thousands of questionnaires to gather data on consumer spending habits before launching their new product line."
plot a map of (land)
"The team spent weeks surveying the rugged coastline to create an accurate topographic map for the new hiking trail."
To inspect, or take a view of; to view with attention, as from a high place; to overlook
"Standing on the cliff edge, she surveyed the vast ocean below before realizing how small her worries seemed in comparison."
In plain English: To survey something means to look at it carefully from different angles to get a full view of what is there.
"The researcher asked everyone to survey their neighbors about the new park."
Usage: Use the verb survey when you are visually examining something carefully from an elevated position or taking in its full scope at once. Do not use it for conducting statistical research, which requires the noun form "survey."
The word "survey" comes from the Middle English surveyen, which was borrowed from Old French for the meaning "to oversee." It originally combined elements meaning "over" and "see," reflecting its roots in Latin before entering English with that same sense of watching or inspecting.