populate
/ˈpɒpjuleɪt/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈpɑːpjuleɪt/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈpä-pyə-ˌlāt/ (ame, mw)
populate — 動詞
- populatepresent simple I / you / we / they
- populateshe / she / it
- populatedpast simple
- populating-ing form
1. to be the place where a particular group of people or animals makes its home — u
居住於；棲息
（某群體）居住或棲息在某地區
to be the place where a particular group of people or animals makes its home — used especially in passive constructions describing what inhabitants a region has.
The small island is populated mainly by fishing families who have lived there for generations.
這座小島上居住的主要是世代以捕魚為生的家庭。
passive: be populated by [group]
This remote valley is populated by fewer than five hundred year-round residents.
這座偏遠山谷中居住的永久居民不到五百人。
Rainforests are populated by an astonishing variety of insects, birds, and mammals.
熱帶雨林裡棲息著種類繁多的昆蟲、鳥類和哺乳動物。
The coastal wetlands are populated by otters, egrets, and dozens of fish species.
沿海濕地中有水獺、白鷺和數十種魚類棲息。
The vast Siberian forest is populated by deer, wolves, and bears.
廣闊的西伯利亞森林中有鹿、狼和熊棲息。
That city neighbourhood is populated mainly by students and young professionals.
那個城市社區中居住的主要是學生和年輕專業人士。
The northern plains are thinly populated, with just one town every hundred kilometres.
北部平原人口稀疏，每一百公里才有一個城鎮。
- inhabited
the direct synonym for the passive sense; 'populated' adds a slight emphasis on the density or mix of inhabitants
- occupied
suggests people are living in or using a space, but less natural for describing wildlife or a general population
- settled
implies people moved there and established a community; more historical in tone
- uninhabited
describes a place with no residents at all
- depopulated
describes a place that once had residents but lost them
文法句型
be populated by [people/animals]
densely/thinly populated area
用法筆記
Frequently passive. The 'by'-phrase naming the inhabitants is almost always present; without it the sentence feels incomplete (compare 'The island was populated' vs 'The island was populated by European settlers').
常見錯誤
2. to live in a place as a resident — used actively, with the people or animals as
居住；生活
（人、動物）生活在某地並構成人口
to live in a place as a resident — used actively, with the people or animals as the subject of the sentence, emphasising that they together form the area's population.
Over thirty million people populate the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.
超過三千萬人居住在東京大都會區。
active transitive: [group] populate [place]
More than two million people populate this historic port city and its suburbs.
超過兩百萬人居住在這個歷史悠久的港口城市及其郊區。
active transitive: [group] populate [place] — population figure
Dozens of different ethnic groups populate the neighbourhoods of this diverse city.
數十個不同的族群居住在這座多元城市的各個社區裡。
Wild horses still populate a few remote mountain valleys in Central Asia.
野馬仍然生活在中亞的幾個偏遠山谷中。
文法句型
[people/animals] populate [place]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 (BE INHABITED) is passive and describes what sort of inhabitants a place has; sense 2 (ACTIVELY INHABIT) is active and states the fact of a group living somewhere as its population. The subject of sense 2 should always be the inhabitants themselves, not a geographic area.
常見錯誤
3. to insert data into a computer-based document, table, or list, typically through
填入資料
自動將資料加入數位文件或表格
to insert data into a computer-based document, table, or list, typically through an automatic process rather than by typing it manually.
The script populates the spreadsheet with sales figures pulled from the database.
這個腳本會自動從資料庫抓取銷售數字，填入試算表中。
populate [document] with [data]
Once you enter a customer ID, the form populates the address fields automatically.
只要輸入客戶編號，表單就會自動填入地址欄位。
Mei-Lin wrote a macro to populate the invoice template with each client's details.
Mei-Lin 寫了一個巨集，用來將每個客戶的詳細資料填入發票範本。
The registration system will populate a welcome email with the user's name and access information.
註冊系統會自動填入一封歡迎信，內容包含使用者的名稱和登入資訊。
After the customer completes the checkout, the system populates the invoice with their name, address, and order details.
顧客完成結帳後，系統會自動在發票上填入姓名、地址和訂單詳細資料。
- clear
to remove data from a document or field
文法句型
populate [document/table/field] with [data]
populate [database/list] automatically
用法筆記
The subject is typically a software tool (script, macro, system), and the object is the container being filled (form, table, email, field). Can be used in the passive ('the list is populated from a server') when the agent is a program rather than a person.
常見錯誤
4. to introduce inhabitants into a region — for instance, bringing settlers to a pr
移居；放養
將人、動物遷入某地定居
to introduce inhabitants into a region — for instance, bringing settlers to a previously empty territory or releasing wildlife back into a protected area.
The government encouraged farmers to populate the empty prairie land in the nineteenth century.
十九世紀時，政府鼓勵農民移居到空曠的大草原地區。
deliberate settlement: populate + empty area
Conservationists are working to re-populate the nature reserve with wolves that were once native to the region.
保育人士正努力將當地原有的狼群重新引入自然保護區。
In the 1700s, European settlers began to populate the eastern coast of what is now the United States.
西元1700年代，歐洲殖民者開始在今日美國東岸地區定居。
The program aims to populate the river with young salmon raised in hatcheries.
該計畫旨在將孵化場養殖的鮭魚幼魚放養到河中。
- settle
the closest synonym; 'settle' focuses on the act of establishing a community, while 'populate' emphasises filling a space with inhabitants
- colonise
has political and historical overtones of taking control; narrower than 'populate'
- stock
used especially for introducing animals (stock a pond with fish, stock a farm with cattle)
- depopulate
to reduce the number of inhabitants in an area
文法句型
populate [area] with [people/animals]
[people] were brought to populate [area]
用法筆記
Common in historical or conservation contexts. Unlike sense 1 (which describes an existing state) and sense 2 (which describes the fact of living somewhere), this sense focuses on the deliberate act of introducing inhabitants to a place. Often used with 're-' prefix ('repopulate').