Standard Lemma guide

surveil

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /sɚˈveɪl/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /səˈveɪl/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -eɪl
  • CMU ARPABET: S ER0 V EY1 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To keep someone or something under surveillance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, transitive

Examples

  • The plaintiff also stresses that the store as a whole, and the customer exits especially, were closely surveilled.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

keep under surveillance

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The police had been following him for weeks but they could not prove his involvement in the bombing

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: follow, survey

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

1903. Back-formation from surveillance (but compare also French surveiller and the variant surveille).

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Danish: overvåge — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Finnish: valvoa — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • French: surveiller — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • German: überwachen — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Hungarian: megfigyel — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Polish: inwigilować — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Polish: obserwować — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Polish: nadzorować — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Polish: monitorować — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Portuguese: vigiar — To keep someone or something under surveillance
  • Swedish: övervaka — To keep someone or something under surveillance