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.
This option would leave the island's most populated town, Tobermory, without a primary school.
From BBC
That limited their options, he said, adding that they wanted to make sure the ship was safe before bringing it into a populated area such as Milford Haven.
From BBC
In turn, that has helped create and sustain service-sector businesses and jobs too, especially to a previously sparsely populated city centre.
From BBC
A state contractor plugged all 21 oil wells at the AllenCo Energy drill site in University Park, preventing the release of noxious gases and chemical vapors into the densely populated South Los Angeles neighborhood.
From Los Angeles Times
This is how the scores of docuseries and podcasts populating the genre transform actual horror into digestible content.
From Salon
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.
