repopulate

verb

re·​pop·​u·​late (ˌ)rē-ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt 

repopulated; repopulating

transitive verb

: to populate (something) again

As cougars repopulate much of their former range, however, they are also encountering humans more frequently.

—William K. Stevens

… captive breeding programs are helping to repopulate endangered species.

—Mike Capuzzo

In modern times it was depopulated when distant city jobs attracted its people, then repopulated by city people.

—Jane Jacobs

Any new bone-marrow cells can survive and repopulate the recipient's defense apparatus provided the markers on the cell surfaces are the same as those of the donor.

—Lewis Thomas

repopulation

(ˌ)rē-ˌpä-pyə-ˈlā-shən 

noun

The first step is the repopulation of buffalo, the Plains' signature animal.

—Edmunds V. Bunkse

… even high total doses of radiation … may not be effective in controlling tumors capable of accelerated repopulation, since the rate of cell division may outpace that of cell loss stemming from treatment.

—Allen S. Lichter et al.

Examples of repopulate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Wolves began repopulating Washington in 2008, crossing first from the Canadian border into the state and later from Idaho, according to University of Washington research published last month. —Christine Clarridge, Axios, 16 July 2024

The Presidio Trust, a federal agency that manages the park, has repopulated the coastal landscape with turtles, newts and damselflies that once lived there. —Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, 15 July 2024

The other lesson: depending solely on city government to repopulate and reinvigorate East Side neighborhoods can only bring disappointment. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 24 June 2024

There, the Turkish military, working with its Islamist allies in the Syrian opposition, attacked the YPG, displaced over 150,000 Kurds (nearly half of Afrin’s population), and repopulated the province with Arabs and Turkmen from elsewhere in Syria. —Brett McGurk, Foreign Affairs, 16 Apr. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1588, in the meaning defined above