surveil
gb/sɚvˈeɪl/ us/sɚvˈeɪl/
C1
English
Senses
0 senses
Verb
formal
C1
action
1
watch for security or investigation
to watch someone or something carefully, often secretly, for official or security reasons
Usage pattern:
surveil [someone/something]
Common mistake:
Surveil is a transitive verb: say “police surveilled the house,” not “police surveilled on the house.” In everyday English, “monitor” or “watch” is more common.
Synonyms
monitor (more common and neutral; not necessarily secret or official)
|
watch (simpler and more general)
|
observe (more neutral and less associated with security)
|
spy on (informal and suggests secret watching, often disapproved of)
|
keep under surveillance (common phrase with the same official or investigative sense)
Antonyms
ignore (pay no attention rather than watching closely)
|
overlook (fail to notice or monitor)
|
neglect (fail to give needed attention or supervision)
Collocations
surveil a suspect
|surveil a target
|surveil a building
|surveil a border
|surveil communications
|surveil citizens
|surveil a protest
|closely surveil
|secretly surveil
|electronically surveil
Themes
law
|security
|policing
|privacy
Examples
- Police surveilled the apartment for several weeks before making an arrest.
- The company was accused of using software to surveil employees without their knowledge.
- Security teams surveil the entrances during major events.
Learner examples
- The police surveilled the suspect.
- The cameras were used to surveil the building.
Verb
technical
C2
process
2
systematically monitor for changes
to check something regularly and carefully to find changes or problems
Usage pattern:
surveil [a population/system/condition] for [changes/risks/patterns]
Common mistake:
In this technical sense, “monitor” is usually more natural in general English; “surveil” is mainly used in specialist contexts such as public health or security.
Synonyms
monitor (more common in both general and technical English)
|
track (emphasizes following changes over time)
|
screen (often means testing to identify cases or risks)
|
observe (more general and less systematic)
|
survey (can mean collect data from people or examine a situation)
Antonyms
disregard (pay no attention to data or changes)
|
neglect (fail to monitor or maintain properly)
|
miss (fail to detect a change or problem)
Collocations
surveil disease activity
|surveil infection rates
|surveil a population
|surveil wastewater
|surveil air quality
|surveil online activity
|surveil network traffic
|actively surveil
|continuously surveil
|systematically surveil
Themes
public_health
|science
|technology
|data
|risk
Examples
- Health officials surveil wastewater to detect early signs of viral outbreaks.
- The software can surveil network traffic for unusual patterns.
- Researchers surveilled the bird population for evidence of the disease.
Learner examples
- The team surveilled the data for warning signs.
- Doctors surveil infection rates during an outbreak.
Grammar
Dictionary form
surveil
IPA
GB/sɚvˈeɪl/
US/sɚvˈeɪl/
Syllables & stress
sur - veil (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (sur)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: surveil
- 3rd Person Singular: surveils
- Present Participle: surveiling
- Past: surveiled
- Past Participle: surveiled
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.