population

noun

pop·​u·​la·​tion ˌpä-pyə-ˈlā-shən 

1

a

: the whole number of people or inhabitants in a country or region

b

: the total of individuals occupying an area or making up a whole

c

: the total of particles at a particular energy level

—used especially of atoms in a laser

2

: the act or process of populating

3

a

: a body of persons or individuals having a quality or characteristic in common

b(1)

: the organisms inhabiting a particular locality

(2)

: a group of interbreeding organisms that represents the level of organization at which speciation begins

4

: a group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples are taken for statistical measurement

populational

ˌpä-pyə-ˈlā-shnəl 

-shə-nᵊl

adjective

Examples of population in a Sentence

The world's population has increased greatly.

The city has experienced an increase in population.

There has been a sharp reduction in the bat population in this region.

the rural population of America

Recent Examples on the Web

With one of the world’s youngest populations among major emerging economies and the highest youth unemployment rates globally, the country must invest now in skills and higher education or risk a deepening crisis. —Michael Sheldrick, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025

The report, conducted by financial technology company SmartAsset, analyzed the migration trends of people between the ages of 25 and 44 in 2023, ranking cities by the percentage of their populations made up of new millennial residents. —Ron Estes, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Mar. 2025

Wisconsin's population is whiter than the U.S. population as a whole. —Savannah Kuchar, USA Today, 31 Mar. 2025

Between 2010 and 2024, Kannapolis’ population grew by about 39%, according to census data. —Desiree Mathurin, Charlotte Observer, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin populātiōn-, populātiō "group of people, crowd," from Latin populus people entry 1 + -ā-, stem vowel of 1st conjugation verbs + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action

Note: This noun appears to have been formed from a verb populāre "to people, provide with inhabitants" that is not attested before the later Middle Ages. (At the corresponding entry in the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, a verb populāre with the sense "to increase" is cited with the date "c550 in a British source," though there is no matching record in Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources.) Thesaurus Linguae Latinae has two citations for a verb populāre meaning "to show, reveal," in the Vetus Latina and Gregory of Tours, that the editor judged to be errors for prōpalāre, a derivative of classical prōpalam "in full view, openly."

First Known Use

1612, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing population

• population density
• population drift
• population explosion

Rhymes for population

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Kids Definition

population

noun

pop·​u·​la·​tion ˌpäp-yə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: the whole number of people living in a country or region

2

: the act or process of populating

3

: a group of one or more species of organisms living in a particular area or habitat

Medical Definition

population

noun

pop·​u·​la·​tion ˌpäp-yə-ˈlā-shən 

1

: the whole number of people or inhabitants in a country or region

2

a

: a body of persons or individuals having a quality or characteristic in common

b(1)

: the organisms inhabiting a particular locality

(2)

: a group of interbreeding organisms that represents the level of organization at which speciation begins

3

: a group of individual persons, objects, or items from which samples are taken for statistical measurement