census

noun

cen·​sus ˈsen(t)-səs How to pronounce census (audio)
Synonyms of censusnext
1
: a count of the population and a property evaluation in early Rome
2
: a usually complete enumeration of a population
specifically : a periodic governmental enumeration of population
According to the latest U.S. census, 20% of the population is of Hispanic or Latino origin.
3
: count, tally
a census of deer in a game refuge
census transitive verb

Synonyms of census

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of census in a Sentence

According to the latest census, the racial makeup of the town has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. a thorough census of all the grizzly bears living within the national park
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Some people don’t answer the census questions about their origins at all. — Albert Sun, New York Times, 2 July 2026 And the census is still trying to figure out how to ask questions to sort out race, ethnicity and origins. — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026 That wasn’t news to Leroy Walker when Book approached him last month during the census. — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026 Additionally, first-time homebuyers in some census tracts can get up to $8,000 with the Flagstar Power-Up program. — Kelsey Neubauer, CNBC, 2 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for census

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin cēnsus, from cēnsēre "to give as an opinion, assess, appraise, perform the duties of a censor" + -tus, suffix of verbal action — more at censor entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1628, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of census was circa 1628

Phrases Containing census

Rhymes for census

See All Rhymes for census

Browse Nearby Words

censurer
census
census clause
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Census.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/census. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

census

noun
cen·​sus ˈsen(t)-səs How to pronounce census (audio)
: a counting of the population (as of a country, city, or town) and a gathering of related statistics done by a government every so often

Legal Definition

census

noun
cen·​sus
: a usually complete count of a population (as of a state)
especially : a periodic governmental count of a population that usually includes social and economic information (as occupations, ages, and incomes)

More from Merriam-Webster on census

Nglish: Translation of census for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about census

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All