Standard Lemma guide

overpopulate

verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: OW2 V ER0 P AA1 P Y AH0 L EY0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

verb

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

cause to have too great a population

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • Some towns in New Jersey are becoming overpopulated

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: populate, dwell, live, inhabit

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- English populate English overpopulate From over- + populate.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: surpeupler — fill with too many individuals
  • Hungarian: túlnépesít — fill with too many individuals
  • Spanish: sobrepoblar — fill with too many individuals