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Definition of population - 5 dictionary results

pop⋅u⋅la⋅tion

  [pop-yuh-ley-shuhn]
Use population in a Sentence
–noun
1. the total number of persons inhabiting a country, city, or any district or area.
2. the body of inhabitants of a place: The population of the city opposes the addition of fluorides to the drinking water.
3. the number or body of inhabitants of a particular race or class in a place: the native population; the working-class population.
4. Statistics. any finite or infinite aggregation of individuals, not necessarily animate, subject to a statistical study.
5. Ecology.
a. the assemblage of a specific type of organism living in a given area.
b. all the individuals of one species in a given area.
6. the act or process of populating: Population of the interior was hampered by dense jungles.
Origin:
1570–80; < LL populātiōn- (s. of populātiō). See populate, -ion

Related forms:
pop⋅u⋅la⋅tion⋅al, adjective
pop⋅u⋅la⋅tion⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To population
pop·u·la·tion   (pŏp'yə-lā'shən)   
n.  

    1. All of the people inhabiting a specified area.

    2. The total number of such people.

  2. The total number of inhabitants constituting a particular race, class, or group in a specified area.

  3. The act or process of furnishing with inhabitants.

  4. Ecology All the organisms that constitute a specific group or occur in a specified habitat.

  5. Statistics The set of individuals, items, or data from which a statistical sample is taken. Also called universe.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pop·u·la·tion
Pronunciation: "päp-y&-'lA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : the whole number of people orinhabitants in a country or region
2 a : a body of persons or individuals having a quality or characteristic in common b (1) : the organisms inhabiting aparticular locality (2) : a group of interbreeding organisms that represents the level of organization at which speciation begins
3 : a group of individual persons,objects, or items from which samples are taken for statistical measurement
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

population pop·u·la·tion (pŏp'yə-lā'shən)
n.

  1. The total number of people inhabiting a specific area.

  2. The set of individuals, items, or data from which a statistical sample is taken.

  3. All the organisms that constitute a specific group or occur in a specified habitat.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

population

in human biology, the whole number of inhabitants occupying an area (such as a country or the world) and continually being modified by increases (births and immigrations) and losses (deaths and emigrations). As with any biological population, the size of a human population is limited by the supply of food, the effect of diseases, and other environmental factors. Human populations are further affected by social customs governing reproduction and by the technological developments, especially in medicine and public health, that have reduced mortality and extended the life span.

Learn more about population with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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