populate
verb
pop·u·late
ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt 
populated; populating
2
a
: to furnish or provide with inhabitants : people
b
: to provide with members
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
Rising through a manhole in the middle of a dark New York alley populated with drag queens and the colorful characters of Lower Manhattan, the ever-blond Carpenter sank into her daffy-meets-sultry routine.
—
Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
His observations about the eccentric characters that populate the Kit Kat Club, like the mysterious Emcee and the British singer Sally Bowles, provide the groundwork for both the musical and his future novel.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
The world Maddie lives in is populated by eccentric characters who wear their respective fixations on their sleeve.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The integrity of our system of justice and the judicial system is based on the trust that people place in the jurists that populate that branch, the third branch of government.
—John E. Jones Iii, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
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Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 Sep. 2025
His observations about the eccentric characters that populate the Kit Kat Club, like the mysterious Emcee and the British singer Sally Bowles, provide the groundwork for both the musical and his future novel.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 7 Sep. 2025
The world Maddie lives in is populated by eccentric characters who wear their respective fixations on their sleeve.
—Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2025
The integrity of our system of justice and the judicial system is based on the trust that people place in the jurists that populate that branch, the third branch of government.
—John E. Jones Iii, The Conversation, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
Cite this Entry
“Populate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/populate. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
populate
verb
pop·u·late
ˈpäp-yə-ˌlāt
populated; populating
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