noun · 5 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:/sɚˈveɪ.ləns/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Received-Pronunciation:/səˈveɪ.ləns/
India:/səɾˈveː.ləns/
CMU ARPABET:S ER0 V EY1 L AH0 N S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Close observation of an individual or group; person or persons under suspicion.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Continuous monitoring of disease occurrence for example.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Systematic observation of places and people by visual, aural, electronic, photographic or other means.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: espionage, government, military, politics, war
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
In criminal law, an investigation process by which police gather evidence about crimes, or suspected crime, through continued observation of persons or places.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: law
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
close observation of a person or group (usually by the police)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: police work, police investigation
Narrower terms: electronic surveillance, watch, vigil, stakeout, surveillance of disease
History
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from French surveillance (“a watching over, overseeing, supervision”), from surveiller (“to watch, oversee”), from sur- (“over”) + veiller (“to watch”), from Middle French, from Old French veillier (“to stay awake”), from Latin vigilāre (“to be watchful”). More at vigilant.
Across languages
Translations
63 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
waarneming
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Azerbaijani:
nəzarət
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Basque:
jagoletza
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Bulgarian:
наблюде́ние
(nabljudénie)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Bulgarian:
надзо́р
(nadzór)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Catalan:
vigilància
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Chinese Mandarin:
監測 /监测
(jiāncè)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Chinese Mandarin:
監視 /监视
(jiānshì)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Danish:
overvågning
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Dutch:
bewaking
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
French:
surveillance
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
French:
fichage
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Galician:
vixilancia
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Georgian:
ზედამხედველობა
(zedamxedveloba)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Georgian:
მეთვალყურეობა
(metvalq̇ureoba)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Georgian:
დაკვირვება
(daḳvirveba)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
German:
Überwachung
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Greek:
παρακολούθηση
(parakoloúthisi)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Greek:
επιτήρηση
(epitírisi)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Greenlandic:
nakkutilliineq
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Hebrew:
מעקב סמוי
(maakav samui)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Higaonon:
tagpaniid
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Hungarian:
megfigyelés
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Indonesian:
pemantauan
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Indonesian:
pengawasan
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Indonesian:
surveilans
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Italian:
sorveglianza
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Japanese:
監視
(kanshi)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Japanese:
サーベイランス
(sābeiransu)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Khmer:
ការឃ្លាំមើល
(kaakhlŏəmməəl)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Korean:
감시
(gamsi)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Malayalam:
നിരീക്ഷണം
(nirīkṣaṇaṁ)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Māori:
tūteitanga
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Marathi:
संनिरीक्षण
(sannirīkṣaṇ)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Norwegian Bokmål:
oppsikt
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Norwegian Bokmål:
overvåking
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Norwegian Bokmål:
overvåkning
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Occitan:
susvelhança
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Persian:
نظارت
(nezârat)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Persian:
مراقبت
(morâqebat)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Persian:
پایش
(pâyeš)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Polish:
inwigilacja
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Polish:
obserwacja
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Polish:
nadzór
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Polish:
monitorowanie
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Portuguese:
vigilância
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Romanian:
supraveghere
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Russian:
надзо́р
(nadzór)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Russian:
наблюде́ние
(nabljudénije)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Spanish:
vigilancia
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Swahili:
ulinzi
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Swedish:
bevakning
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Swedish:
bevarande
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Swedish:
övervakning
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Tagalog:
matyag
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Tagalog:
pagmamatyag
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Turkish:
gözetim
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Turkish:
gözaltı
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Turkish:
nezaret
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Ukrainian:
нагляд
(nahljad)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Vietnamese:
sự giám sát
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Welsh:
gwyliadwriaeth
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
Yiddish:
אויגהאַלטונג
(oyghaltung)
— observation of individuals or groups of individuals
