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definitions

overpopulate

[oh-ver-pop-yuh-leyt]
verb (used with object), o·ver·pop·u·lat·ed, o·ver·pop·u·lat·ing.
  1. to fill with an excessive number of people, straining available resources and facilities: Expanding industry has overpopulated the western suburbs.

Origin of overpopulate

First recorded in 1865–70; over- + populate
Related formso·ver·pop·u·la·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for over-population

bottleneck, overpopulation, profusion, jam, mass, excess, press, surplus, surfeit, crowding, snarl-up, overcrowding, overdevelopment

Examples from the Web for over-population

Contemporary Examples of over-population

  • Your existence contributes to over-population, climate change, and species extinction.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Keep Christmas Commercialized!

    P. J. O’Rourke

    December 6, 2014

  • Perhaps ironically, many hunters claimed to be “culling” the herd, thereby saving it from over-population or starvation.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Texas' Gunslinging Governor

    Kinky Friedman

    April 29, 2010

Historical Examples of over-population

  • I don't believe in Malthus or any talk about over-population.

    Shining Ferry

    Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

  • There is no fear of over-population; if there is any present danger, it is upon the other side.

    Liberalism

    L. T. Hobhouse

  • We find evidences of over-population in every old country of the world.

  • I am no believer in Malthusianism as a check to what is called 'over-population.'

    The Drunkard

    Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull

  • There is less poverty simply because poverty is synonymous with over-population.

    The Pacific Triangle

    Sydney Greenbie

Word Origin and History for over-population
n.

"over-populousness," 1807, from over- + population. Malthus (1798) had over-populousness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper