cohabit
Americanverb (used without object)
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to live together as if married, usually without legal or religious sanction.
-
to live together in an intimate relationship.
-
to dwell with another or share the same place, as different species of animals.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cohabitsimple
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cohabitssimple
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have cohabitedperfect
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has cohabitedperfect
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am cohabitingprogressive
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are cohabitingprogressive
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is cohabitingprogressive
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have been cohabitingperfect progressive
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has been cohabitingperfect progressive
Past
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cohabitedsimple
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had cohabitedperfect
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was cohabitingprogressive
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were cohabitingprogressive
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had been cohabitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cohabit
1520–30; < Late Latin cohabitāre, equivalent to co- co- + habitāre to have possession, abide (frequentative of habēre to have, own)
Explanation
The verb cohabit means to live together as if you are married. If you and your significant other are thinking of cohabiting, make sure all the chores are shared equally. The definition of the verb cohabit can include two different species living together in the same environment. If you enjoy animal stories, you should read some of the ones about animals cohabiting together. Sure, lots of dogs and cats cohabit the same space as their owners, but there was a dog that became best friends with an elephant and the two cohabited in a rescue park for years.
Vocabulary lists containing cohabit
Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 2
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2014 Vocabulary Video Contest (A-L)
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Vocab Video Contest (2016) - List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
That in turn drew in wildcats, and, “Natural selection favored those wildcats that were able to cohabit with humans.”
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
You have the right to cohabit with someone who demonstrates the willingness to bathe — for your sake, if not for his own.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022
“Animals that wouldn’t normally cohabit are actually forced together because there is so little habitat.”
From New York Times ● Jul. 6, 2022
French Minister Ms Parly warned that "we will not be able to cohabit with mercenaries".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2021
This meant not only that we were learning, in a real way, how to cohabit as a couple but also that Barack got to know my family in a more intimate way.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Cassie lives in Silicon Valley, where great privilege cohabits with poverty and despair, and works at a start-up that promises her the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
Team Richmond cohabits with another IMT unit, Team Prospect, run by the same nonprofit, the Institute for Community Living.
From Seattle Times ● May 6, 2023
Aletti cohabits with thousands and thousands of magazines.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 15, 2019
Waddoups ordered "or cohabits with another person" be deleted and narrowed the meaning of "purports to marry" but allowed a ban on multiple marriage licenses.
From US News ● Apr. 11, 2016
Langdon is of the opinion that these dreams are recounted to Enkidu by a woman with whom Enkidu cohabits for six days and seven nights and who weans Enkidu from association with animals.
From An Old Babylonian Version of the Gilgamesh Epic by Jastrow, Morris
Had I not just cohabited with “Ulysses” for the last month, I no doubt would have spent the intermission reading chapter summaries on my phone to get a deeper understanding of the story.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025
The Athletics are the last of a triumvirate that once cohabited the vast concrete acreage alongside Interstate 880 in Oakland.
From New York Times ● May 15, 2022
You cohabited away the luxury of not wanting kids.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2020
When Modi was thirteen, his parents arranged for him to marry a local girl, but they cohabited only briefly, and he did not publicly acknowledge the relationship for many years.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 2, 2019
He cohabited with her; from them men were born.
From Myth, Ritual and Religion — Volume 1 by Lang, Andrew
The report sorted American households into seven distinct family structures: intact married, single parent, blended, unmarried biological or adoptive, cohabiting, extended and other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Laws regarding cohabiting unmarried partners vary by state.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
Mabel 1 was used to fly to and from Foy’s glove, and for much of the action depicting Helen cohabiting with Mabel in her house.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 12, 2025
Last year, UK law changed to afford cohabiting couples the same right.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2024
Desperation, deep poverty, and illiteracy drove women to take the risk of cohabiting with men such as truck drivers and soldiers, those with steady jobs or who wielded the power of intimidation.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
