Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To supply with inhabitants, as by colonization.
  • transitive verb To live in; inhabit.
  • transitive verb Computers To fill (an empty field or array) with data.
  • transitive verb Chemistry To fill (an electron shell of an atom) with electrons.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To furnish with inhabitants, either by natural increase or by immigration or colonization; people.
  • To breed; propagate; increase in number.
  • Populated; populous.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb obsolete To propagate.
  • adjective obsolete Populous.
  • transitive verb To furnish with inhabitants, either by natural increase or by immigration or colonization; to cause to be inhabited; to people.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To supply with inhabitants; to people.
  • verb intransitive To live in; to inhabit.
  • verb computing To fill initially empty items in a collection.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb inhabit or live in; be an inhabitant of
  • verb fill with inhabitants

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Medieval Latin populāre, populāt-, from Latin populus, the people; see popular.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin populus ("the people").

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Examples

  • This corporation that we populate is commodity-based so therefore, to use an economic term, Canada is a price-taker not a price-maker country.

    A Look at Canada Incorporated 1990

  • Until 1985 the sale and use of contraception was entirely prohibited, and even medical service providers still justify actions that curtail women's human rights by referring to a century-old maxim, "to populate is to govern."

    Marianne Mollmann: Argentina's Slow Tango With Women's Lives Marianne Mollmann 2010

  • Until 1985 the sale and use of contraception was entirely prohibited, and even medical service providers still justify actions that curtail women's human rights by referring to a century-old maxim, "to populate is to govern."

    Marianne Mollmann: Argentina's Slow Tango With Women's Lives Marianne Mollmann 2010

  • Until 1985 the sale and use of contraception was entirely prohibited, and even medical service providers still justify actions that curtail women's human rights by referring to a century-old maxim, "to populate is to govern."

    Marianne Mollmann: Argentina's Slow Tango With Women's Lives Marianne Mollmann 2010

  • Until 1985 the sale and use of contraception was entirely prohibited, and even medical service providers still justify actions that curtail women's human rights by referring to a century-old maxim, "to populate is to govern."

    Marianne Mollmann: Argentina's Slow Tango With Women's Lives Marianne Mollmann 2010

  • Until 1985 the sale and use of contraception was entirely prohibited, and even medical service providers still justify actions that curtail women's human rights by referring to a century-old maxim, "to populate is to govern."

    Marianne Mollmann: Argentina's Slow Tango With Women's Lives Marianne Mollmann 2010

  • The most popular search terms populate a query could on the front page of the site.

    2007 November Duncan Riley 2005

  • The most popular search terms populate a query could on the front page of the site.

    Will IRSeeK Have A Chilling Effect on IRC Chat? Roi Carthy 2005

  • Once there, the Geeklet properties window will populate, which is where all the magic (configuration) happens.

    GigaOM Network 2010

  • And fundamentalist religions persuing the idea of populate and perish ideals, who've done more than anyone, or anything to really fuck up the planet.

    newmatilda.com - Comments rachelc102 2008

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