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
Explanation
When people live in or occupy a country, city, or town, they populate it. It doesn’t always refer to people — bugs might populate your kitchen if you leave half-eaten food out. If your family lives alone on an island, you're the only people who populate it. You can also use this verb to mean "be present in," so you might say that vampires populate your favorite books, or that animated characters populate most of the movies you watch. Populate also means "fill in" in computing: "Will you populate that spreadsheet with data?" The Latin populus, or "people," is at the root of populate.
Vocabulary lists containing populate
The Origins of Civilization, Lessons 3–5
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Road Home
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popul (people)
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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.
First, as AI bots populate these sites with fake images and get-rich schemes, audiences will tune out.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
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
If all the inmates in these institutions were let free, they could populate a small city.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
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.
