Words / B2

SENS-uh-s/ˈsensəs/

A census is an official count of a country’s population: the ten-year census, census data. Count and survey are everyday and looser; a poll samples opinion, not every resident. In Britain, a census is a legal national exercise. In speech, the official population count is enough. Do not call a class register a census.

Meaning

An official count of the population of a country.

Examples

• “The government holds a census every ten years.”
• “Census forms asked about language at home, which the school later used for planning.”
• “Refusing a census return can be an offence; it is not the same as skipping a market-research call.”

Good to know

Official national population count. Everyday: the official count. Contrast: survey/poll (sample). Legal, national; not a class register.

Near in meaning

count

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