populatepop‧u‧late /ˈpɒpjəleɪt $ ˈpɑː-/ verb [transitive] 
The highlands are populated mainly by peasant farmers.densely/heavily/highly/thickly populated (=with a lot of people) one of the most densely populated areas in the worldsparsely/thinly/lightly populated (=with very few people)GRAMMAR Populate is usually passive.2technical to fill a computer database or table with information
VERB TABLE
populate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | populate |
| he, she, it | populates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | populated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have populated |
| he, she, it | has populated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had populated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will populate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have populated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am populating |
| he, she, it | is populating | |
| you, we, they | are populating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was populating |
| you, we, they | were populating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been populating |
| he, she, it | has been populating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been populating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be populating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been populating |
EXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Exponentially reproducing pornographic images are populating cyberspace.
- It is often said that the North East was populated by successive generations of industrial scabs.
- Nicholson's are emphatically not backstreet boozers populated by men in cloth caps talking about their ferrets.
- Other industrialized and densely populated countries have similar problems.
- The Haight was largely populated by trekkers from Alabama and Louisiana.
- The spiders have instinctively achieved their objective of populating new areas.
- The start string is automatically populated with any alphanumeric characters preceding the wild characters.
Longman Language Activatorto live in a place
to have your home in a particular place: · Where do you live?live in: · Do you like living in Tokyo?· Judy lives in that nice house on the corner.· How do you like living in the city again after so many years away from it?live at: · In 1905 Russell was living at 4 Ralston Street.live at home (=to live in your parents' house): · Donald is 30 years old, but he still lives at home.live abroad (=live in a foreign country): · They lived abroad for several years but moved back when the children were school age.live in (=live at the place where you work or study) British: · Many students prefer to live in during their first year of study.
especially spoken use this to talk about the place where you live: · My name's Sharon and I'm from Harlow.· The man is believed to be from somewhere in the north of England.· Where are you from?
formal to live in a country, city, or area - used in official contexts: reside in: · Miss Badu grew up in Dallas but now resides in Brooklyn.· At that time there were many American writers residing in Paris.reside at: · Miss Tonelli, how exactly did you come to reside at your current address?reside abroad (=live in a foreign country): · The government bureau has prepared a booklet for U.S. citizens residing abroad.
to live in a place during the time when you are a child: · This is the neighborhood where my father grew up.grow up in: · Margaret Hallworth was born in Manchester but grew up in North Wales.grow up on: · I grew up on a farm in eastern Pennsylvania.
if a group of people or animals inhabit an area of land, they live there, especially over a long period of time or permanently - used especially in reports and written contexts: · The island is mainly inhabited by sheep.· Some tribes still inhabit the more remote mountains and jungles of the country.
if an area of land is populated by a particular type of people or animals, they are the people or animals who live there: · This area of Antarctica is populated only by seals and penguins.be heavily populated by (=to have a large number of a particular group): · Mindanao is an island in the southern Philippines heavily populated by Muslims.
when a place has people living in it an area of land or a building that is inhabited has people living in it: · Only two of the islands are inhabited.· This tiny town has been an inhabited area for over 3,000 years.
a building or room that is occupied has people living in it: · None of the flats is occupied - they've only just been built.
with people living there: · Bears are appearing more and more frequently in populated areasdensely/heavily populated (=having many people): · The north-east has always been more densely populated than the rest of the country.thinly/sparsely populated (=having few people): · French Guiana is a sparsely populated wilderness.
an area where there are houses where people live: · The museum is about 6 blocks from downtown in a quiet residential area.· London's main airport is surrounded by densely populated residential areas.
formal use this about a place that humans live in or have lived in in the past: · The only sign of human habitation was a charred area where there had once been a fire.
WORD SETSabyss, nounalluvial, adjectivealluvium, nounalpine, adjectiveAmerican, adjectiveAntarctica, anticyclone, nounarchipelago, nounArctic, adjectivearid, adjectiveAsia, atlas, nounatoll, nounAustralasia, Australasian, adjectiveAustralia, avalanche, nounaxis, nounbank, nounbarometer, nounbarrier reef, nounbasin, nounbay, nounbayou, nounbeach, nounbearing, nounbed, nounbight, nounbluff, nounborder, nounborder, verbborderland, nounborderline, nounborough, nounbox canyon, nounBritish, adjectivebutte, nouncanyon, nouncape, nouncapital, nouncardinal point, nounCaribbean, adjectivecartography, nouncay, nounchain, nounchaparral, nounchart, nounchasm, nounchimney, nounChinese, adjectivecirrus, nounCIS, nouncliff, nounclimate, nounclimatic, adjectivecoastal, adjectivecoastline, nouncockney, nouncol, nouncold front, nouncommuter belt, nouncompass, nounconfluence, nouncontinent, nouncontinental, adjectivecontinental shelf, nouncontour, nounconurbation, nouncoordinate, nouncorridor, nouncorrie, nouncoterminous, adjectivecouncil estate, nouncountry, nouncounty, nouncounty town, nouncourse, nouncove, nouncrag, nouncraggy, adjectivecreek, nouncrevasse, nouncrevice, nouncumulus, nouncyclone, noundateline, noundelta, noundesert, noundesert island, noundevelopment, noundistrict, noundivide, noundown, adverbdune, noundust bowl, nouneast, nouneast, adjectiveeast, adverbeastbound, adjectiveeasterly, adjectiveeasterly, nouneastern, adjectiveEasterner, nouneasternmost, adjectiveeastwards, adverbelevation, nouneminence, nounenvirons, nounequatorial, adjectiveerode, verberosion, nounescarpment, nounestuary, nounEurope, nounextraterritorial, adjectiveeyot, nounface, nounfarmland, nounfeeder, nounfiord, nounfirth, nounfjord, nounflood plain, nounfluvial, adjectivefrontier, nounfrontiersman, noungale force, adjectivegap, noungeo-, prefixgeography, noungeophysics, noungeopolitics, noungeyser, nounglacial, adjectiveglaciation, nounglacier, nounglobe, noungoldfield, noungorge, noungrassland, nounGrecian, adjectivegreen belt, noungrid, noungrotto, noungroundwater, noungulch, noungulf, noungully, nounhead, nounheadland, nounheadwaters, nounheartland, nounhemisphere, nounhighland, adjectivehighlands, nounhigh water mark, nounhinterland, nounHome Counties, the, homeland, nounhurricane, noun-i, suffixIberian, adjectiveiceberg, nounice cap, nounice floe, nounice pack, nounice sheet, nouninhabitant, nouninland, adjectiveinland, adverbinlet, nouninner city, nouninshore, adverbinsular, adjectiveintercontinental, adjectiveInternational Date Line, nounisland, nounisle, nounislet, nounisobar, nounIsraeli, adjectiveIsraeli, nounisthmus, nounItalian, adjectiveItalianate, adjectiveItalo-, prefixJapanese, adjectivekey, nounknoll, nounlagoon, nounlake, nounlandlocked, adjectivelandmass, nounlandslide, nounlandslip, nounlat., Latin, adjectiveLatin America, nounLatin American, adjectivelatitude, nounlevee, nounlittoral, nounlong., longitude, nounlongitudinal, adjectivelough, nounlowlands, nounlow-lying, adjectivelow water mark, nounmagnetic north, nounmagnetic pole, nounmarsh, nounmarshland, nounmeander, verbMediterranean, adjectiveMercator projection, nounmeridian, nounmesa, nounMiddle America, nounmidtown, adjectivemonsoon, nounmoorland, nounmorass, nounmountain, nounmountainside, nounmountaintop, nounmouth, nounmudslide, nounmull, nounnarrows, nounnavigation, nounNE, neck, nounnor'-, prefixnorth, nounnorth, adjectivenorth, adverbNorth America, nounnortheast, nounnortheast, adjectivenortheasterly, adjectivenortheastern, adjectivenortheastwards, adverbnortherly, adjectivenorthern, adjectivenortherner, nounnorthernmost, adjectivenorthwards, adverbnorthwest, nounnorthwest, adjectivenorthwesterly, adjectivenorthwestern, adjectivenorthwestwards, adverbnotch, nounNW, NZ, oasis, nounoccidental, nounocean, nounonshore, adjectiveopenness, nounOrdnance Survey map, nounoriental, adjectiveoutcrop, nounoverspill, nounpack ice, nounpaddy, nounpalisade, nounpan-, prefixpanhandle, nounparallel, nounpeak, nounpeninsula, nounPersian, adjectivephysical geography, nounplain, nounplateau, nounpoint, nounpolar, adjectivepole, nounpolitical geography, nounpollutant, nounpop., populate, verbpopulation, nounprairie, nounprecipice, nounprecipitation, nounPrime Meridian, principality, nounprojection, nounpromontory, nounprovince, nounprovincial, adjectivepueblo, nounR, rainfall, nounrain forest, nounrain gauge, nounrainstorm, nounrange, nounravine, nounreef, nounreference, nounregion, nounregional, adjectiverelief map, nounreservoir, nounresettle, verbresidential, adjectiveresource, nounridge, nounrift valley, nounrise, verbriver, nounriver basin, nounriver bed, nounRoman, adjectiverotation, nounrugged, adjectiverun-off, nounrural, adjectivesand, nounsand bar, nounsandstorm, nounsandy, adjectivesavanna, nounScandinavian, nounscar, nounscarp, nounscree, nounscrubland, nounSE, seaboard, nounsea breeze, nounseafront, nounsea level, nounseaport, nounseaward, adjectivesection, nounsemitropical, adjectiveshelf, nounslough, nounsmog, nounsnowfield, nounsource, nounsouth, nounsouth, adjectivesouth, adverbSouth America, adjectivesoutheast, nounsoutheast, adjectivesoutheasterly, adjectivesoutheastern, adjectivesoutheastwards, adverbsoutherly, adjectivesouthern, adjectivesouthernmost, adjectivesouthwards, adverbsouthwest, nounsouthwest, adjectivesouthwesterly, adjectivesouthwestern, adjectivesouthwestwards, adverbspeleology, nounspit, nounspur, nounstrait, nounsubcontinent, nounsubtropical, adjectivesuburb, nounsuburban, adjectivesummit, nounsurvey, nounsurvey, verbSW, swamp, nountableland, nounterrain, nounterritory, nountidal, adjectivetidal wave, nountidewater, nountime zone, nountop, nountopography, nountor, nountornado, nountown, nountown centre, nountowpath, nountrack, nountract, nountrade route, nountrail, nountransatlantic, adjectivetranscontinental, adjectivetributary, nountropic, nountropical, adjectivetundra, nountyphoon, nounUK, the, uncharted, adjectiveup, adverbup-country, adjectiveuplands, nounupper, adjectiveupriver, adverbupstate, adjectiveupstream, adverbuptown, adverburban, adjectiveurbanized, adjectiveurban renewal, nounurban sprawl, nounUS, the, adjectivevalley, nounW, warm front, nounwaste, adjectivewasteland, nounwater, verbwatercourse, nounwaterfall, nounwaterfront, nounwaterhole, nounwatering place, nounwater meadow, nounwatershed, nounwater table, nounwaterway, nounweather vane, nounwest, nounwest, adjectiveWest, nounwestern, adjectiveWesterner, nounwesternmost, adjectivewestward, adverbwilderness, nounwolds, nounzoning, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY a heavily populated area a sparsely populated area The mountain regions are more thinly populated than the lowlands.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB
(=with a lot of people) one of the most densely populated areas in the world
one of the most densely populated areas in the world (=with very few people)
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a heavily populated area a sparsely populated area The mountain regions are more thinly populated than the lowlands.· Other industrialized and densely populated countries have similar problems.· Cairo experienced a sudden spurt of growth that turned it into one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world.· Understandably this kind of thing angers the inhabitants of less densely populated regions such as Ogoniland.· The best places to get multiple reports are densely populated areas, which means cities.· The area is quite densely populated and the majority continues to be actively farmed.· In less densely populated areas the recovery rate is of course correspondingly lower.· These inside surfaces are the most densely populated region of the human body.· There may also be objections to its carrying vast loads over densely populated areas.
· This year, runners will head down heavily populated Sunset Boulevard into downtown.· They operated in rugged enemy-fortified zones and in heavily populated rural areas.· Once Highway 3 connects with Highway 1 at Ensenada, the area becomes heavily populated.
· The Earth is sparsely populated and desolate, with many tower blocks lying decayed and uninhabited.· Although sparsely populated, the country offers foreign travelers everything from historical monuments and castles to authentic saunas and high-tech industry.· He will have noticed, as have those of us who are Friday habitue s, that the Benches are sparsely populated.· The neon chicken radiates orange warmth into the sparsely populated diner.
· Formerly the Amazon region was more thinly populated than the Sahara, containing perhaps some 50000 people, and importing food.· Surface waters in contact with melting ice tend to be very thinly populated with zooplankton.· Both are thinly populated areas far from departure and arrival points presently used by local commuters.
NOUN· In general, both shock waves from airbursts and tsunami waves from ocean impacts may present serious hazards to populated areas.· Both are thinly populated areas far from departure and arrival points presently used by local commuters.· Cairo experienced a sudden spurt of growth that turned it into one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world.· The spiders have instinctively achieved their objective of populating new areas.· The best places to get multiple reports are densely populated areas, which means cities.· There may also be objections to its carrying vast loads over densely populated areas.· In less densely populated areas the recovery rate is of course correspondingly lower.
· After all, the city was populated by people who came from somewhere else because they were looking for something different.· Or that every club on Howard Street has lines around the block populated by half-naked people.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
- Its thickly wooded shores, pastoral rivers and mercurial weather draw naturalists and artists.
- Most of northern Calabria is mountainous and thickly wooded with pine, silver fir and maple.
- Of all the nearby hills, its pinnacle was closest to their mountain, and it was the most thickly wooded.
- Take the footpath beside the Esk, here thickly wooded with birch and ash, for a hundred yards or so upstream.
- The land over the hill was thickly wooded.
- The spacious stone house had originally been one of three sharing the same hilly and thickly wooded parcel of land.
- We drove on through the village and turned into a clearing surrounded by a thickly wooded area.
- When the air became more thickly populated, such extravagant forms disappeared.
WORD FAMILYadjectivepopulated ≠ unpopulatedpopulousnounpopulationverbpopulate
1if an area is populated by a particular group of people, they live there: The highlands are populated mainly by peasant farmers.densely/heavily/highly/thickly populated (=with a lot of people) one of the most densely populated areas in the worldsparsely/thinly/lightly populated (=with very few people)GRAMMAR Populate is usually passive.2technical to fill a computer database or table with information