populate
verb
pop·u·late
ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt 
populated; populating
2
a
: to furnish or provide with inhabitants : people
… there were survivors, and their descendants populate the world today.—
Walter Alvarez
Walter Alvarez
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
Glass Onion upped the glitz factor, moving the action to a private Greek island populated by a tech billionaire and his visiting celebrity friends.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Dec. 2025
She was left at a convent by her mother at the age of four; orphans and other girls searching for connection populate her stories.
—Chloe Schama, Vogue, 26 Dec. 2025
Want to get a closer look at the diverse menagerie of worlds populating our solar system?
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Dec. 2025
There’s also the problem of sorting through the data and making sure the videos are accessible with the right credit and creator, which adds research hours to the task of populating diVine with Vine’s back catalog.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for populate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Dec. 2025
She was left at a convent by her mother at the age of four; orphans and other girls searching for connection populate her stories.
—Chloe Schama, Vogue, 26 Dec. 2025
Want to get a closer look at the diverse menagerie of worlds populating our solar system?
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 26 Dec. 2025
There’s also the problem of sorting through the data and making sure the videos are accessible with the right credit and creator, which adds research hours to the task of populating diVine with Vine’s back catalog.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 24 Dec. 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 31 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
populate
verb
pop·u·late
ˈpäp-yə-ˌlāt
populated; populating
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share