Words / B2

in-HAB-it/ɪnˈhæbɪt/

To inhabit is to live in a place: inhabit an island; species that inhabit spoil heaps. Live is everyday; occupy can mean take over. Few species inhabit the heaps. Inhabitant is the person noun (already in the dictionary). Formal/science. Do not inhabit a seat for five minutes and call it inhabiting.

Meaning

To live in a place.

Examples

• “Few species inhabit the spoil heaps, the ecology paper noted.”
• “Communities that inhabit the floodplain were mapped, which is the human-geography sense.”

Good to know

inhabit a place / habitat. Everyday: live in. Person: inhabitant. Ecology and geography. Formal. Residence, not a short visit.

Near in meaning

live

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