inhabit
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to live or dwell in; occupy
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archaic (intr) to abide or dwell
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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inhabitabilitynoun
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inhabitationnoun
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preinhabitationnoun
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preinhabitverb (used with object)
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reinhabitverb (used with object)
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inhabitableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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inhabitsimple
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inhabitssimple
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have inhabitedperfect
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has inhabitedperfect
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am inhabitingprogressive
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are inhabitingprogressive
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is inhabitingprogressive
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have been inhabitingperfect progressive
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has been inhabitingperfect progressive
Past
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inhabitedsimple
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had inhabitedperfect
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was inhabitingprogressive
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were inhabitingprogressive
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had been inhabitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of inhabit
First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin inhabitāre, equivalent to in- in- 2 + habitāre “to dwell” ( see habit 2); replacing Middle English enhabiten, from Middle French enhabiter, from Latin as above
Explanation
When you inhabit a place, you live there. When actors inhabit their roles, they seem to become the characters, no longer actors reciting their lines. It is like they live the life of the character. The verb inhabit comes from the Old French enhabiter, meaning “dwell in.” You can inhabit an actual place, like a home, a cave, or a neighborhood. You can also inhabit an imaginary world, like those who choose to inhabit cyberspace with a made-up persona, telling about experiences that are nothing like the person's real life. Actors who truly inhabit their roles sometimes struggle to return to reality after a movie or television show wraps.
Vocabulary lists containing inhabit
"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from all 4 Acts
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"The Crucible" -- Vocabulary from Act 1
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List 2
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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:
That lesson — how to genuinely inhabit a shared world with others — has never felt more urgent.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
At this rainforest-like indoor farm, where creatures such as coral, tropical fish and sea cucumbers inhabit different aquariums, Kinjo bred "miracle coral" with extra resistance to warmer water.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The most important thing is to ensure that once the mining has been conducted, the habitat can be returned to a state where the desert rain frog can inhabit it, he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
By combining the recent shark capture with 160 years of documented records, the researchers concluded that great white sharks continue to inhabit Mediterranean waters, even if they are rarely seen.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Find your character,” Volpe tells his actors, by which he means they must fully understand and inhabit the roles of the people they are playing.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
The cerebral Cady that Bardem inhabits spent nearly two decades in prison convicted for his wife’s murder.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
But having grown up in less-privileged circumstances, she’s uneasy in the world she now inhabits and bristles at the condescending manner of her mother-in-law.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
He not only imagines competing sides of a traumatic family story but also inhabits the aggrieved minds of both Douglas, the out-of-touch father, and James, his out-of-control playwright son.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
All three sisters found themselves single, and the music inhabits that strange liminal space where you're relieved to be free, but not quite ready to move on.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025
A dance gives nommo where bodies are not separate from the will that inhabits them.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
At one point, residents say, the abandoned property was inhabited by the unhoused.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
There have been increasing complaints from farmers about damaged crops and residents over bear incursions into inhabited areas, sparking angry social media exchanges with those who defend the animals' protected status.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
However, their presence on an island inhabited by people strongly suggests an intentional and ongoing relationship.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Cape Verde is an archipelagic country in the central Atlantic Ocean made up of 10 islands, of which nine are inhabited.
From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026
It was in an alley just behind Capricorn’s yard, surrounded by empty houses inhabited only by cats and rats.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Studies have even shown that inhabiting a character increases one’s ability to see from others’ perspectives.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
The fossils indicate that the birds inhabiting New Zealand a million years ago were substantially different from those present when people eventually arrived.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
Most guess cancer treatments, longevity discoveries and inhabiting Mars, but no one really knows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026
There are ghosts inhabiting “Sound of Falling” — you just need to know where to look for them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026
Human beings, born ultimately of the stars and now for a while inhabiting a world called Earth, have begun their long voyage home.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
