inhabit

American  

[in-hab-it] / ɪnˈhæb ɪt /

verb (used with object)

1. to live or dwell in (a place), as people or animals.

   Small animals inhabited the woods.

   Synonyms:

   populate, tenant, occupy, reside

2. to exist or be situated within; dwell in.

   Weird notions inhabit his mind.

   Synonyms:

   populate, tenant, occupy, reside

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verb (used without object)

1. Archaic. to live or dwell, as in a place.

inhabit British  

/ ɪnˈhæbɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to live or dwell in; occupy

2. archaic (intr) to abide or dwell

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Other Word Forms

• inhabitability noun
• inhabitable adjective
• inhabitation noun
• preinhabit verb (used with object)
• preinhabitation noun
• reinhabit verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of inhabit

First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin inhabitāre, equivalent to in- in- ² + habitāre “to dwell” ( habit ² ); replacing Middle English enhabiten, from Middle French enhabiter, from Latin as above

Example Sentences

Lebanon is dotted with derelict buildings, and many inhabited structures are in an advanced state of disrepair.

From Barron's

Part of the film’s ingenuity is its ability to let us inhabit Travis’s psyche while not losing our perspective on him.

From The Wall Street Journal

“The fact that they also inhabited the movie was tremendously important to us. When it came to the set pieces we could ask, ‘What’s real?

From Los Angeles Times

Neither can male mountain lions or mule deer, both of which inhabit this dramatic desert.

From Los Angeles Times

They lived hundreds of miles apart—the former in Venice, the latter in Florence and Rome—and inhabited vastly different aesthetic universes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• locate
• occupy
• populate
• possess
• reside