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population

American  

[pop-yuh-lay-shuhn] / ˌpɒp jəˈleɪ ʃən /

noun

• populations
  plural

1. the total number of people inhabiting a country, city, or any district or area.

2. the body of inhabitants of a place.

   The population of the city opposes the addition of fluorides to the drinking water.

3. the number or body of inhabitants in a place belonging to a specific social, cultural, socioeconomic, ethnic, or racial subgroup: the working-class population.

   the Native population

   the working-class population.

4. Statistics. any finite or infinite aggregation of individuals, not necessarily animate, subject to a statistical study.

5. Ecology.

   1. the assemblage of a specific type of organism living in a given area.

   2. all the individuals of one species in a given area.

6. the act or process of populating.

   Population of the interior was hampered by dense jungles.

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population British  

/ ˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. (sometimes functioning as plural) all the persons inhabiting a country, city, or other specified place

2. the number of such inhabitants

3. (sometimes functioning as plural) all the people of a particular race or class in a specific area

   the Chinese population of San Francisco

4. the act or process of providing a place with inhabitants; colonization

5. ecology a group of individuals of the same species inhabiting a given area

6. astronomy either of two main groups of stars classified according to age and location. Population I consists of younger metal-rich hot white stars, many occurring in galactic clusters and forming the arms of spiral galaxies. Stars of population II are older, the brightest being red giants, and are found in the centre of spiral and elliptical galaxies in globular clusters

7. Also called: universe. statistics the entire finite or infinite aggregate of individuals or items from which samples are drawn

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population Scientific  

/ pŏp′yə-lā′shən /

1. A group of individuals of the same species occupying a particular geographic area. Populations may be relatively small and closed, as on an island or in a valley, or they may be more diffuse and without a clear boundary between them and a neighboring population of the same species. For species that reproduce sexually, the members of a population interbreed either exclusively with members of their own population or, where populations intergrade, to a greater degree than with members of other populations.

2. See also deme

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• repopulation
  noun
• subpopulation
  noun
• superpopulation
  noun
• populational
  adjective
• populationless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• populations
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of population

First recorded in 1570–80, population is from the Late Latin word populātiōn- (stem of populātiō ). See populate, -ion

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Explanation

Population means the number of people in a geographic area. The population of Wyoming is just shy of 600,000 people, but the population of California is nearly 40 million! This word can also be used for subgroups of people. If you plan to start an all-ages ping pong league, you'll want to determine the population of table-tennis enthusiasts in your hometown. Population can apply to groups of animals, too. Because of the worldwide decrease in the panda population, giant pandas are now an endangered species. The word population, like the word populace, derives from the Latin populus, meaning "people."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

population populations

Only around 1993 did that accuracy begin to falter and the global population began falling behind the forecasts — because the world began to do what von Foerster and his colleagues recommended it do.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

“We know enough that people should be taking actions to reduce their exposures” to plastic, said Tracey Woodruff, a Stanford professor of epidemiology and population health.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026

"Menopause is something that effects 50% of the population, so we absolutely should be expecting a level of health," Williams added.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

That marks an increase of 156,000 people from the end of last year, and accounts for roughly 3.5 percent of Japan's total population, according to calculations based on government estimates.

From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026

And a robust captive breeding program in China helps ensure a growing panda population.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

In their article, however, von Foerster and his co-authors argued that as far as populations go, humans may be exceptional.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 17, 2026

Pacific Island countries with small populations have struggled to patrol millions of kilometres of Pacific Ocean to combat illegal fishing fleets from Asia and the passage of "narco subs" deployed from South America.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

As aging sewer networks struggle with growing populations and changing weather patterns, a team of engineers and professors in Europe is developing a robot designed to detect and potentially address problems before disaster strikes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

In order to beat the record, venues needed to be at least 50km apart in cities populated by more than 15,000 people, with half of the cities needing to have populations of at least 100,000.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Were mutations sudden and spontaneous, or were abundant natural genetic variations already present in wild populations?

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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