overpopulate

[ oh-ver-pop-yuh-leyt ]

verb (used with object)

, o·ver·pop·u·lat·ed, o·ver·pop·u·lat·ing.

1. to fill with an excessive number of people, straining available resources and facilities:

   Expanding industry has overpopulated the western suburbs.

Other Words From

• over·popu·lation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overpopulate¹

First recorded in 1865–70; over- + populate

Example Sentences

Once the animal isn’t overpopulated, the calculus is different.

From Washington Post

There are obviously areas where deer aren’t overpopulated, and you don’t do the landscape a favor by hunting them.

From Washington Post

The question of why we age has produced a lot of false answers, such as, “We age because if we didn’t we would overpopulate the earth.”

From Nautilus