noun
-
a dwelling place
-
occupation of a dwelling place
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of habitation
1325–75; Middle English ( h ) abitacioun (< Anglo-French ) < Latin habitātiōn- (stem of habitātiō ) a dwelling, equivalent to habitāt ( us ) inhabited (past participle of habitāre; see habitat) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
Habitation is the state of living somewhere. When an area has no human habitation, it means that no people live there. Use the noun habitation to talk about the place where a person or animal lives, or the process or act of living in a specific spot. You can say that your family's habitation in Oregon lasted for five years, although it's more common to talk in a general way about habitation. The habitation of wolves in the American west, for example, has increased recently. The Latin root is habitationem, "act of dwelling," which comes from habitare, "to live or to dwell."
Vocabulary lists containing habitation
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 4
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
There's No Word Like Home
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
The discovery pushes back the oldest known evidence of rainforest habitation by more than double previous estimates and suggests early Homo sapiens were far more adaptable than once believed.
From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026
Many houses have the neglected look of infrequent habitation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026
You won’t see deer, tapir, peccaries, monkeys or chicken-like curassows anywhere within trekking distance of habitation; they’ve all been eaten.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
“The habitation of these people on the island,” one Brookhaven National Laboratory scientist wrote in a 1957 report, “will afford the most valuable ecological radiation data on human beings.”
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
According to William Woods, the geographer and archaeologist at the University of Kansas, Monks Mound completely covers whatever habitation these people had before they built Cahokia.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
But what those habitations looked like—or whether they were occupied year-round—remains unclear.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 14, 2023
Mr Kenoyer says he's confident that "there must be some settlements that relate to the cemetery, but they are probably lying beneath modern habitations or so far undiscovered".
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2023
Media showed images of the river lashing through the hills and entering human habitations.
From Reuters ● Oct. 4, 2023
It hails L.A. as “one of the most flourishing habitations of man, which has been so highly favored and blessed.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2023
It was nothing special as Sparra habitations went: a straw palliasse, some butterfly wings stuck to the wall by way of decoration.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
