population
B1Neutral to formal; common in academic, scientific, journalistic, and everyday contexts.
Definition
Meaning
All the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country; the total number of such inhabitants.
A particular group or type of people or animals living in an area. In statistics, the entire pool from which a statistical sample is drawn.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Primarily a count noun, but can be used as a non-count noun when referring to the general concept (e.g., 'studying population'). Often modified to specify a sub-group (e.g., 'student population', 'aging population').
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in core meaning or usage. Minor differences in collocational frequency in some formal/academic contexts.
Connotations
Neutral in both varieties. The term can carry connotations of statistics, policy, resources, or social dynamics depending on context.
Frequency
Equally high frequency in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
the population of [place]a population of [number][adjective] population (e.g., large, small, diverse)Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Population at large”
- “Representative of the population”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Referring to customer bases or market segments (e.g., 'the working-age population').
Academic
Central term in demographics, sociology, biology, statistics (e.g., 'study population', 'population parameters').
Everyday
Talking about cities, countries, or groups of people/animals (e.g., 'What's the population of London?').
Technical
In ecology: a group of organisms of the same species; in statistics: the complete set of items under study.
Examples
By Part of Speech
adjective
British English
- Population figures were released today.
- A population boom is predicted.
American English
- Population data is crucial for planning.
- They conducted a population survey.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The population of my town is about 50,000.
- Cities have a large population.
- The country's population is growing rapidly.
- We need to consider the needs of the elderly population.
- Population density is much higher in urban centres compared to rural areas.
- The study sampled a representative cross-section of the adult population.
- Government policies must adapt to the demographic shifts within the working-age population.
- The statistical model accounts for biases within the target population.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of a 'popular' city. The POPUlation is all the people who make it popular.
Conceptual Metaphor
A LIVING ORGANISM (grows, declines, ages, moves); A RESOURCE (to be managed, taxed, counted); A STATISTICAL SET (to be sampled and analyzed).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- False friend: 'популяция' in Russian is almost exclusively used in biology/ecology for groups of animals/plants. The general human meaning uses 'население'.
- Avoid using 'population' for a small group of people in a room; use 'people' or 'group' instead.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'populations' incorrectly for a single group (e.g., 'the populations of the city' -> 'the population of the city').
- Confusing 'population' with 'popularity'.
- Using as a verb (incorrect: 'The area populated quickly' correct: 'The area became populated quickly').
Practice
Quiz
In which context is the word 'population' LEAST likely to be used?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is primarily countable (e.g., 'the populations of two cities'), but can be uncountable when referring to the general concept (e.g., 'the study of population').
'Population' is neutral and technical. 'Populace' is slightly more formal/literary and often refers to the common people of a place, sometimes with a political connotation.
Yes, in scientific contexts it can refer to animals, plants, or even inanimate objects like stars or statistical data points (e.g., 'a population of galaxies', 'the population of survey responses').
Use 'What is the population of [place]?' NOT 'How many population...?' or 'How much population...?'
Collections
Part of a collection
Environment
B1 · 47 words · Nature, ecology and environmental issues.