habitat

noun

hab·​i·​tat ˈha-bə-ˌtat 

1

a

: the place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows

b

: the typical place of residence of a person or a group

the arctic habitat of the Inuit

c

: a housing for a controlled physical environment in which people can live under surrounding inhospitable conditions (as under the sea)

2

: the place where something is commonly found

has its natural habitat in university, in government, or in industrial laboratories

—B. B. Watson

Synonyms

• home
• territory
• range

Examples of habitat in a Sentence

a forest in California is set aside to preserve the unique brushy, rugged habitat required by nesting California condors

Recent Examples on the Web

Issues such as habitat loss and climate change can feel daunting, said Matthew Shepherd, education director at the environmental nonprofit Xerces Society. —Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025

The plan was lauded by conservationists for striking a balance between habitat protections for pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, elk, and mule deer while still allowing significant fossil-fuel and renewable-energy developments. —Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2025

Population numbers vary per season and their habitat can range up to one hundred acres if food is scarce, especially in the fall. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 4 Sep. 2025

Weeks of driving around the Central Valley, darting between muddy fields not unlike the very birds they were hired to monitor, has reinforced to Carr and Stallworth how much available habitat remains. —Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, it inhabits, from habitare

First Known Use

1796, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for habitat

• acrobat
• autocrat
• automat
• bundesrat
• bureaucrat
• butterfat
• caveat
• chemostat
• copycat
• cryostat
• democrat
• diplomat

Kids Definition

habitat

noun

hab·​i·​tat ˈhab-ə-ˌtat 

: the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows

Medical Definition

habitat

noun

hab·​i·​tat ˈhab-ə-ˌtat 

1

: the place or environment where a plant or animal naturally occurs

the human pubic region is the natural habitat of the crab louse

2

: a housing for a controlled physical environment in which people can live surrounded by inhospitable conditions (as under the sea)