populate
/ˈpɑ.pjəˌleɪt/verb
populate is spelled P-O-P-U-L-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, populate means “To supply with inhabitants; to people” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in populate?
| Letters | 8: P-O-P-U-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,063rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is populate?
Populate appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,063rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce populate?
- UK /ˈpɒp.jʊˌleɪt/
- US /ˈpɑ.pjəˌleɪt/
- Australia /ˈpɔp.jəˌlæɪt/
Populate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-populate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with populate?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as populate from its last stressed vowel (/ɑpjəleɪt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of populate
- populates present, singular, he/she/it
- populating participle, present
- populated participle, past
- more populate comparative
- most populate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does populate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To supply with inhabitants; to people.
- 2
To live in; to inhabit.
- 3
To increase in number; to breed.
- 4
To fill initially empty items in a collection.
John clicked the Search button and waited for the list to populate.
- 5
To fill initially empty slots or sockets on a circuit board or similar.
adjective
- 1
obsoletepopulous
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Populate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | peupler , remplir |
| German | besiedeln, bevölkern , füllen , bestücken |
| Portuguese | povoar |
| Spanish | poblar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does populate come from?
Borrowed from Medieval Latin populātus, past participle of populor (“populate”), from Latin populus (“people”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).