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survey

/ˈsɝˌveɪ/
nounverb

SURVEY meaning: a general view or examination; the six-letter word scores 12 Scrabble points and has no anagrams.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  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.

    “A survey of the stores of a ship; a survey of roads and bridges; a survey of buildings.”

  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.

    “The owners of the adjoining plots had conflicting surveys.”

Verb 4 meanings

  1. To inspect, or take a view of; to view with attention, as from a high place; to overlook

    “He stood on a hill, and surveyed the surrounding country.”

  2. To view with a scrutinizing eye; to examine.

  3. To examine with reference to condition, situation, value, etc.; to examine and ascertain the state of

    “It was his job to survey buildings in order to determine their value and risks.”

  4. To determine the form, extent, position, etc., of, as a tract of land, a coast, harbor, or the like, by means of linear and angular measurements, and the application of the principles of geometry and trigonometry

    “to survey land or a coast”

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

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.

Similar and opposite words

Similar
prospectsurveilreviewoverlooklusterlustratecircularize

Survey is an everyday word with several distinct senses: taking a broad look, examining a group, or measuring land. Its Scrabble total is 12, with V and Y contributing four points apiece. Rearranging E, R, S, U, V and Y produces no anagrams, so its appeal lies more in its meaning and score than in letter-shuffling puzzles.

SURVEY at a glance

  • SURVEY is six letters long and can mean a broad view, an examination, or land measurement.
  • Its Scrabble value is 12 points: V and Y are worth four each.
  • The letters E, R, S, U, V and Y make no anagrams.
  • SURREY, PURVEY, CURVEY and KURVEY are its four one-letter neighbours.

What does SURVEY mean?

SURVEY can mean the act of looking over something as a whole, or a close examination of a particular group. A questionnaire-based study is one familiar kind of survey, while an official inspection can also fit the word’s examination sense.

The word also has a more technical meaning: measuring and describing an area of land. In that use, a survey records details such as a site’s position or dimensions. These senses share the idea of taking stock, but the land-measurement meaning is more precise than a general overview.

How does SURVEY score, and what is near it?

The letter values add up to 12: S, U, R and E are worth one point each, while V and Y supply four points apiece. That makes the two less common tiles responsible for most of the score. The total is the letter value before any board-square bonuses.

Only one letter changes between SURVEY and each of its four neighbours: SURREY, PURVEY, CURVEY and KURVEY. For a rack search, those are worth checking as separate plays rather than treating SURVEY as an anagram source.

SURVEY also rhymes with familiar words such as CONVEY and less familiar ones such as PEAVEY. For anyone checking SURVEY meaning during a game, remember that accepted words depend on the dictionary your game uses; check that list before playing.

Rhymes with survey

All rhymes
  • CONVEY14
  • GARVEY13
  • LOVEY11
  • COVEY13
  • PEAVEY14
  • WAVEY14
  • PURVEY14
  • SLAVEY12
  • RESURVEY14
  • RAVEY11
  • CURVEY14
  • JIVEY18

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest
  • SURREY9
  • PURVEY14
  • CURVEY14
  • KURVEY16

Questions people ask

How is the SURVEY Scrabble score calculated?
SURVEY scores 12 points from its six letter values. S, U, R and E each contribute one point, while V and Y contribute four each. The total does not include bonuses from premium squares, which depend on where you place the word.
What words are one letter away from SURVEY?
The four one-letter neighbours are SURREY, PURVEY, CURVEY and KURVEY. Each differs from SURVEY in just one position. They are related by spelling distance, not by being rearrangements of the same letters.
What rhymes with SURVEY?
CONVEY is a familiar rhyme for SURVEY. Other rhymes include COVEY, PURVEY, SLAVEY and RAVEY. The rhyme group also contains less familiar forms such as PEAVEY and CURVEY, so the strongest choice depends on your puzzle or game.

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