I. ˈsen(t)səs noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Latin, from censēre to assess, tax — more at censor
1. archaic : poll tax
2. : a count of the, especially male, population and a property evaluation held every fifth year in early Rome
3. : an official enumeration of the population of a country, city, or other administrative district generally including vital statistics and other classified information relating to the social and economic conditions
census returns
census bureau
4. : a count, list, or tally typically concerning items not easy to count and conducted with care and thoroughness
a census of manufacturing establishments
a census of deer in a game refuge
a census of extant copies of a first edition
5. civil law : a ground rent or rent charge
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-es )
: to take a census of : count in a census
census the game birds of an area