cohabit

verb

co·​hab·​it (ˌ)kō-ˈha-bət 

cohabited; cohabiting; cohabits

intransitive verb

1

: to live together as or as if a married couple

They cohabited in a small apartment.

2

a

: to live together or in company

buffaloes cohabiting with crossbred cows

—Biol. Abstracts

b

: to exist together

… two strains in his philosophy … cohabit in each of his major works.

—Justus Buchler

So riches seemed to provoke their own discomfort, and affluence cohabited with anxiety.

—Simon Schama

cohabitant

(ˌ)kō-ˈha-bə-tənt 

noun

cohabitation

(ˌ)kō-ˌha-bə-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Examples of cohabit in a Sentence

They cohabited in a small apartment in the city.

Recent Examples on the Web

Those elements help create a world in which a flippant modern mindset and traces of an anachronistic 18th-century one can cohabit comfortably. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Dec. 2024

How serious can the crisis be if cookware and boxers cohabit so cozily with the apocalypse? —Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024

Even if Patrice and Gary solely intend to cohabit, they are informed by a disability rights lawyer in one of the documentary’s early scenes that their benefits are likely to be cut. —Gus Alexiou, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024

No alcohol is served onboard and as a mixed unmarried couple we are forbidden to cohabit. —Kurt Johnson, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin cohabitare, from Latin co- + habitare to inhabit, from frequentative of habēre to have — more at give

First Known Use

circa 1530, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cohabit

verb

co·​hab·​it kō-ˈhab-ət 

: to live together as or as if a married couple

cohabitation

kō-ˌhab-ə-ˈtā-shən 

noun

Legal Definition

cohabit

intransitive verb

co·​hab·​it kō-ˈha-bət 

: to live together as a married couple or in the manner of a married couple

cohabitation

kō-ˌha-bə-ˈtā-shən 

noun