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surveil. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
surveil, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
surveil in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
surveil you have here. The definition of the word
surveil will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
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English
Etymology
1903. Back-formation from surveillance (but compare also French surveiller and the variant surveille).
Pronunciation
Verb
surveil (third-person singular simple present surveils, present participle surveiling or surveilling, simple past and past participle surveiled or surveilled)
- (transitive, US) To keep someone or something under surveillance.
- The plaintiff also stresses that the store as a whole, and the customer exits especially, were closely surveilled.
- Alexandre of London v. Indem. Ins. Co., 182 F. Supp. 748, 750 (United States District Court for the District of Columbia) (1960), cited in Bryan A. Garner. A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage (2nd ed., 2001) p. 861
Usage notes
Found without any comment in major American dictionaries, and in some British dictionaries. Collins recognizes it as either American or British.
The 2015 edition of Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage labels it as "mostly AmE". Unrecognized by OED.
Translations
To keep someone or something under surveillance