populate

[ pop-yuh-leyt ]

verb (used with object)

, pop·u·lat·ed, pop·u·lat·ing.

1. 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.

2. to furnish with inhabitants, as by colonization; people:

   In the 1700s, the British government populated the colony of New South Wales with convicts.

3. 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.

populate

/ ˈpɒpjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. often passive to live in; inhabit
2. to provide a population for; colonize or people

Other Words From

• out·pop·u·late verb (used with object) outpopulated outpopulating
• re·pop·u·late verb (used with object) repopulated repopulating
• su·per·pop·u·lat·ed adjective
• un·der·pop·u·late verb (used with object) underpopulated underpopulating
• un·pop·u·lat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of populate¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populāre “to populate, inhabit”; people, -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of populate¹

C16: from Medieval Latin populāre to provide with inhabitants, from Latin populus people

Example Sentences

She exalts those who work with their hands — plumbers, mechanics, electricians — and belittles the highbrows who populate Washington, speaking the put-upon language of people ignored or disdained because of where they live or how they labor.

From Los Angeles Times

That’s a pointer to one of Musk’s most dearly held goals, which is to populate Mars with humans, transported to the Red Planet presumably by Musk’s rocketship company SpaceX.

From Los Angeles Times

Sex workers populate his movies, their lives treated with dignity without patronizingly reducing these characters to flawless angels.

From Los Angeles Times

Southern California is arguably the birthplace of the modern chain restaurant — this is where McDonald’s got its start, after all — but what was once a cheap meal dedicated to a car-based, drive-thru culture has today become generally associated with poor ingredients, low wages, obesity and the sort of restaurants that populate low-income neighborhoods.

From Los Angeles Times

I am therefore able to use my expendable income to help out my friends with children and to populate my wardrobe with the clothes I never imagined existed when I was 20.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• colonize
• inhabit
• occupy