populate

verb

pop·​u·​late ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt 

populated; populating

transitive verb

1

: to have a place in : occupy, inhabit

Strange creatures populate the deep ocean.

2

a

: to furnish or provide with inhabitants : people

… there were survivors, and their descendants populate the world today.

—Walter Alvarez

b

: to provide with members

Synonyms of populate

• inhabit
• people

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

Living so far out in the virtual wilderness means that there are a lot of things that the Joneses have to contend with on a day-to-day basis, including some of the more dangerous things that populate their daily lives. —Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 27 Jan. 2026

Unlike public social media, the new feed is populated entirely by your own private memories. —Paul Monckton, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026

This year, the streets were not as populated by protesters. —Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 26 Jan. 2026

More encouragingly, Newcastle are extremely excited about their under-14s and the age groups below, which are the post-takeover cohorts, with many youngsters populating England youth sides. —Chris Waugh, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2026

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

Rhymes for populate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

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