overpopulate

O1V4E1R1P3O1P3U1L1A1T1E1

verb

To fill with too many individuals; to exceed the capacity of a region to contain the population.

OriginEnglish populate ← Middle English over- ← Old English ofer- →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

verboverpopulate (third-person singular simple present overpopulates, present participle overpopulating, simple past and past participle overpopulated)

present singular third person overpopulates · participle present overpopulating · participle past overpopulated · past overpopulated

  1. To fill with too many individuals; to exceed the capacity of a region to contain the population.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Englishpopulate
  8. Englishoverpopulate

From over- + populate.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French surpeupler
  • surpeuplerfill with too many individuals
Hungarian túlnépesít
  • túlnépesítfill with too many individuals
Spanish sobrepoblar
  • sobrepoblarfill with too many individuals
Cite this entry
APA

overpopulate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overpopulate

MLA

“overpopulate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overpopulate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overpopulate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overpopulate.

Source: overpopulate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.