populate

verb

pop·​u·​late ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt 

populated; populating

transitive verb

1

: to have a place in : occupy, inhabit

2

a

: to furnish or provide with inhabitants : people

b

: to provide with members

Synonyms

• colonize
• people
• settle

Examples of populate in a Sentence

Immigrants began to populate the area in the late 19th century.

Strange creatures populate the ocean depths.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2014, the blogging platform Tumblr created an era-defining look and was populated by photosets of skinned knees and ripped tights, cigarettes, Doctor Who gif sets, and plenty of moody song lyrics typewritten over stormy backgrounds. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2025

Try Audible for free Perle visited overflowing orphanages populated by children whose parents died in the war. —CBS News, 17 Jan. 2025

The Palisades and Eaton fires leveled communities populated by executives, producers, movie stars and below-the-line workers. —Ryan Faughnder, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2025

In fact, there were 41,000 Americans populating the country as of June, which is a dramatic 39 percent spike from just three years ago. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populāre "to provide with inhabitants,", derivative of Latin populus people entry 1

First Known Use

1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

populate

verb

pop·​u·​late ˈpäp-yə-ˌlāt 

populated; populating

1

: to have a place in : occupy, inhabit

2

: to provide with inhabitants : people