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

The former work is dishwasher-sized and features a blue sky above an autumnal landscape populated by George Washington, school children, and some deer. —Literary Hub, 4 June 2025

The fish spread downstream, populating the fast-water reaches and leaving the more placid stretches to catfish and carp, and in some places to largemouths which have been stocked from time to time but never too successfully. —Arthur Grahame, Outdoor Life, 4 June 2025

And now closing May, Mizrachi took the Bitcoin Conference scenario in Las Vegas, populating some ideas like paying the Panama Canal transit fee with bitcoin, and showcasing how important the country could become in the industry in the short term. —Javier Bastardo, Forbes.com, 31 May 2025

Seeking the company of other emotional exiles — celebrities who populate his international acting company (Tom Hanks, F. Murray Abraham, Mathieu Amalric, Hope Davis, etc.) — has become Anderson’s authorial tic. —Armond White, National Review, 30 May 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

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