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:
The island is also home to other headline names such as Ivanka Trump and Tom Brady, but Bezos is understood to be its richest inhabitant.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 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
As Divine Eye, Maclin anchors the fact-based film as a gruff, standoffish inhabitant of the New York maximum-security prison, who finds a surprising calling through theater workshops and live performance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2024
On reaching Entrance Crater, the lone inhabitant of Mars turned his vehicle toward the Schiaparelli Basin.
From "The Martian" by Andy Weir
The newcomer was KD1, a 4½-year-old eagle who has since become a repeat visitor to the aerie that’s livestreamed around the clock, earning its inhabitants worldwide internet fame.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
In Ittoqqortoormiit, more than a hundred people -- out of the 325 inhabitants of the village -- demonstrated in mid-July against the project, according to KNR.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
He said: "In comparison to the inhabitants of Hemsby and Happisburgh, we are so lucky. We don't think about it too much."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
The actor leads a captivating series on National Geographic about the ancient city and its inhabitants, reconstructing the lives of those who might have escaped the lethal effects of Mount Vesuvius’s eruption.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
The chamber, Taran saw, indeed seemed deserted, of inhabitants, at least, for the room was even more heaped up and disorderly than Dallben’s.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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.
