populate

[ pop-yuh-leyt ]
/ ˈpɒp yəˌleɪt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR populate ON THESAURUS.COM

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

to inhabit; live in; be the inhabitants of.
to furnish with inhabitants, as by colonization; people.

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Origin of populate

1570–80; <Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populāre to inhabit. See people, -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM populate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to populate

occupy, inhabit, colonize, live, settle, people

Example sentences from the Web for populate

British Dictionary definitions for populate

populate
/ (ˈpɒpjʊˌleɪt) /

verb (tr)

(often passive) to live in; inhabit
to provide a population for; colonize or people

Word Origin for populate

C16: from Medieval Latin populāre to provide with inhabitants, from Latin populus people
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012