inhabitant
Americannoun
-
inhabitants
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of inhabitant
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin inhabitant- (stem of inhabitāns ) dwelling in. See inhabit, -ant
Explanation
Someone who usually lives in a specific place — whether it's a mansion, a cave, or a beach house — is its inhabitant. The old man who lives in the scary house down the street is its inhabitant, and the skunk that built a nest under your porch is — unfortunately — an inhabitant of your front yard. The noun inhabitant comes from the verb inhabit, or "to live in," which in turn is rooted in the Latin word inhabitare, "to dwell in or to live in."
Vocabulary lists containing inhabitant
Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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Geography and World Regions
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The First State of Being
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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:
As another gender-swapped character, Ms. Goerke is the pious Reverend, the only bardo inhabitant who understands that he is dead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
In the U.K. if the ruling party changes its leader it means a new inhabitant of 10 Downing Street, even without a fresh national poll.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
In this case, a cave filled with the remains of past meals became a shelter for a completely different kind of inhabitant.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
The fluffy inhabitant also helps to entice customers.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
For every inhabitant of Milagro, there existed a horse like the one belonging to Onofre Martinez.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
These visions are known as Lilliputian hallucinations, named after the miniature inhabitants of "Gulliver's Travels," who stand just 6 inches tall.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 25, 2026
"The target environments are still intimately linked with their inhabitants," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026
“In an experience like this, you’re alone with the inhabitants of the world, and they’re all there as part of your hallucination, your dream and your journey,” Neiden says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
The setting for Alex Preston’s “A Stranger in Corfu” is the Greek island of Vidos, nicknamed Spyland by its inhabitants, all of whom are retired British intelligence agents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The other inhabitants of Shell Cottage could hardly fail to notice that something was going on now that Harry, Ron, and Hermione only emerged for mealtimes.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
