populate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to inhabit; live in; be the inhabitants of.
Almost 2 million people populate the immediate area of the factory and were exposed to potential carcinogens.
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to furnish with inhabitants, as by colonization; people.
In the 1700s, the British government populated the colony of New South Wales with convicts.
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Digital Technology. to fill (a digital document): She’s a fantastic photographer who has populated her blog with beautiful images.
The survey results will populate the spreadsheet as soon as they are submitted online.
She’s a fantastic photographer who has populated her blog with beautiful images.
verb
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(often passive) to live in; inhabit
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to provide a population for; colonize or people
Other Word Forms
- outpopulate verb (used with object)
- repopulate verb (used with object)
- superpopulated adjective
- underpopulate verb (used with object)
- unpopulated adjective
Etymology
Origin of populate
First recorded in 1570–80; from Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populāre “to populate, inhabit”; people, -ate 1
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.
For long-term investors, it can be a tool to help populate a watchlist.
From Barron's • Dec. 26, 2025
My calculations established that for this to be true, “Deep Throat” would have had to sell tickets to enough customers to populate the entire United States one and a half times over.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 19, 2025
Communities of dedicated Palantir shareholders populate the internet across X, Reddit, Discord and YouTube, posting constant updates on company news and memes.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 25, 2025
The immigrants from India and China who populate our institutions of higher learning aren’t elbowing Americans out of the labor force or depressing wages.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
Oh, we can populate the dark with horrors, even we who think ourselves informed and sure, believing nothing we cannot measure or weigh.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
