to furnish with inhabitants, as by colonization; people.
Origin
1570-80; < Medieval Latinpopulātus, past participle of populāre to inhabit. See people, -ate1
Related forms
outpopulate, verb (used with object), outpopulated, outpopulating.
repopulate, verb (used with object), repopulated, repopulating.
superpopulated, adjective
underpopulate, verb (used with object), underpopulated, underpopulating.
unpopulated, adjective
Examples from the web for populate
And the insurers who populate that market have grown all the stronger.
It may sound gimmicky and over the top, but the secret to its success is the realistic characters that populate it.
Compact plants surrounded by clusters of small firms that service them will likely populate tomorrow's manufacturing landscape.
There has to be a better, faster way to re-populate the federal courts.
It is the religious leaders who demanded their flock out populate the others.
As the environment plants and animals live in continues to change, so will it dictate who will continue to populate it.
Enough with every picking of one's nose to populate a school.
We would populate the borehole with samplers and experiments that remained from this expedition.
Shown here are the gustatory nerves that populate the tongue.
Tattooed former soldiers populate the breakfast rooms of reopened business hotels.
British Dictionary definitions for populate
populate
/ˈpɒpjʊˌleɪt/
verb (transitive)
1.
(often passive) to live in; inhabit
2.
to provide a population for; colonize or people
Word Origin
C16: from Medieval Latin populāre to provide with inhabitants, from Latin populus people
Word Origin and History for populate
v.
1610s, from Medieval Latin populatus, past participle of populare "inhabit, to people," from Latin populus "inhabitants, people, nation" (see people (n.)). Related: Populated; populating.