population

noun

pop·u·la·tion | \ ˌpä-pyə-ˈlā-shən

Definition of population

1a : 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

3a : 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

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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

Welcome to the world of Outlander, in which a certain subset of the population can travel through time with the help of specific prehistoric monuments. — Julie Kosin, Harper's BAZAAR, "Caitriona Balfe Is Evolving with Outlander," 31 Dec. 2018 About 98 percent of the population never has to think about building permits. — Brett Martin, House Beautiful, "A Newbie’s Guide To The Permits Needed For Remodeling," 26 Dec. 2018 The social network is used by an estimated 20 million people in Myanmar, or roughly 40 percent of the population. — Kurt Wagner, Recode, "Facebook removed hundreds more accounts linked to the Myanmar military for posting hate speech and attacks against ethnic minorities," 19 Dec. 2018 In China, where consoles were notably banned for fifteen years until 2015, much of the population still isn’t accustomed to console gaming and prefers mobile or PC games instead. — Shannon Liao, The Verge, "PUBG mobile has as many players as Fortnite," 18 Dec. 2018 The second began with the Black Death, which killed at least 30 percent of the population of Western Europe between 1346 and 1353 and then continued rampaging over the next 400-ish years. — Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, "Medieval European plague genomes hint at Black Death’s travels," 5 Dec. 2018 Like Miami, Weston thrives on having a vibrant cultural scene, where people from countries like Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador and many others make up over fifty percent of the population. — Fresh U, Teen Vogue, "How To Cope With Culture Shock In College," 13 Nov. 2018 And functional dyspepsia, which affects the stomach and is otherwise known as indigestion, affects nearly 32% of the population, according to a 2004 study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology. — Colleen Stinchcombe, Woman's Day, "Why Am I Always Bloated?," 29 Oct. 2018 Even just last year, two-thirds of the population still believed Camilla shouldn't become a queen. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "This Is What Kate Middleton's Title Will Be When Prince William Becomes King," 25 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'population.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.