The meaning of POPULATE is to have a place in : occupy, inhabit. How to use populate in a sentence.

POPULATE meaning: 1. If an area is populated by people or animals, they live in that area: 2. to live in an area or…. Learn more.

Definition of populate verb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

POPULATE definition: to inhabit; live in; be the inhabitants of. See examples of populate used in a sentence.

2 meanings: 1. to live in; inhabit 2. to provide a population for; colonize or people.... Click for more definitions.

[Medieval Latin populāre, populāt-, from Latin populus, the people; see popular.] American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt …

What is the etymology of the verb populate? populate is a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin populat-, populare.

pop•u•late (pop′ yə lāt′), v.t., -lat•ed, -lat•ing. to inhabit; live in; be the inhabitants of. to furnish with inhabitants, as by colonization; people.

Dec 10, 2025 · populate (third-person singular simple present populates, present participle populating, simple past and past participle populated) (transitive) To supply with inhabitants; to people. …

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.