overpopulate

[ oh-ver-pop-yuh-leyt ]

/ ˌoʊ vərˈpɒp yəˌleɪt /

verb (used with object), o·ver·pop·u·lat·ed, o·ver·pop·u·lat·ing.

to fill with an excessive number of people, straining available resources and facilities: Expanding industry has overpopulated the western suburbs.

RELATED CONTENT

Pore Over vs. Pour Over Since pour is a common word and sounds identical to pore, many English speakers use the verb pour in the verb phrase pore over meaning “to meditate or ponder intently.”

What’s The Name For The Dot Over “i” And “j”?While many languages, such as Arabic and Hebrew, add specific accents to the letters or characters throughout their alphabet, the English alphabet has only two letters that include a diacritic dot. This mark is added to a letter to signal a change in either the sound or meaning of a character. What is the additional name of this curious dot that hovers over the ninth …

Nearby words

overpeople, overpersuade, overpitch, overplay, overplus, overpopulate, overpopulated, overpopulation, overpotential, overpower, overpowering

Origin of overpopulate

First recorded in 1865–70; over- + populate

Related forms

o·ver·pop·u·la·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019