inhabit

verb

in·​hab·​it in-ˈha-bət 

inhabited; inhabiting; inhabits

transitive verb

1

: to occupy as a place of settled residence or habitat : live in

inhabit a small house

2

: to be present in or occupy in any manner or form

the human beings who inhabit this tale

—Al Newman

intransitive verb

archaic : to have residence in a place : dwell

inhabitable

in-ˈha-bə-tə-bəl 

adjective

inhabiter noun

Examples of inhabit in a Sentence

Several hundred species of birds inhabit the island.

This part of the country is inhabited by native tribes.

There is a romantic quality that inhabits all her paintings.

The novel is inhabited by a cast of eccentric characters.

Recent Examples on the Web

Lima, home to 10 million people, has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 28 June 2025

The area is still inhabited by the Wampanoag tribe and that is the setting for the scene where Hooper, Brody and Mayor Vaughn have a showdown about warning people about the menacing great white shark. —Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 27 June 2025

These photosynthetic bacteria have inhabited our planet for billions of years. —Gregory J. Dick, The Conversation, 26 June 2025

This small community of black-and-white mammals inhabits the Salish Sea, located in the inland Pacific Ocean waters between the state of Washington of British Columbia. —Sharon Udasin, The Hill, 23 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English enhabiten, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French inhabiter, enhabiter, from Latin inhabitare, from in- + habitare to dwell, frequentative of habēre to have — more at give

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for inhabit

• cohabit
• jackrabbit
• abbot
• habit
• rabbit
• sabot
• shabbat

Kids Definition

inhabit

verb

in·​hab·​it in-ˈhab-ət 

: to live or dwell in

inhabitable

-ət-ə-bəl 

adjective