population
- 01 A2 Elementary
all the people who live in a particular town, area, or country.
the total number of inhabitants living within a defined political or geographical boundary.
Simple“The population of the city has grown quickly over the last ten years.”
In context“Government officials are concerned that the aging population will place an unprecedented strain on the national healthcare system over the coming decades.”
UsageOften used with the definite article 'the' when referring to a specific location.
Synonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
a particular group of people or animals that share a certain characteristic.
a subset of people or organisms distinguished by a specific shared trait or condition.
Simple“Scientists are studying the local population of sea turtles to help protect them.”
In context“The research focused exclusively on the student population, ignoring the broader demographic shifts occurring in the surrounding urban area.”
UsageCommonly followed by 'of' to specify the group, such as 'a population of birds'.
- 03 C1 Advanced
the whole group of people or things that a researcher wants to study.
the entire pool from which a statistical sample is drawn and to which the results are meant to apply.
Simple“The researchers picked a small group to represent the whole population.”
In context“To ensure the validity of the study, the sample must be truly representative of the entire population being analyzed.”
UsageIn this context, 'population' refers to the total set of data, not just people.
- 04 C1 Advanced
the act of filling a list, table, or database with information.
the process of supplying or filling a collection, database, or interface with data.
Simple“The population of the database took several hours because there was so much information.”
In context“Automated scripts handled the population of the new system fields, significantly reducing the risk of manual entry errors.”
UsageOften used as a verbal noun describing a technical process.
Usage population growth · population data · population level
Borrowed from Late Latin populatio (“a people, multitude”), as if a noun of action from Classical Latin populus, equivalent to populate + -ion. Doublet of poblacion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.