inhabit

verb

in·​hab·​it in-ˈha-bət How to pronounce inhabit (audio)
inhabited; inhabiting; inhabits
Synonyms of inhabit

transitive verb

1
: to occupy as a place of settled residence or habitat : live in
inhabit a small house
2
: to be present in or occupy in any manner or form
… the human beings who inhabit this tale …—Al Newman

intransitive verb

archaic : to have residence in a place : dwell
inhabitable
in-ˈha-bə-tə-bəl How to pronounce inhabit (audio)
adjective
inhabiter noun

Examples of inhabit in a Sentence

Several hundred species of birds inhabit the island. This part of the country is inhabited by native tribes. There is a romantic quality that inhabits all her paintings. The novel is inhabited by a cast of eccentric characters.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Of the tens of thousands of species that inhabit the region’s lush and astonishingly biodiverse forests today, a handful dominate Asheville’s vibrant foraging and culinary scene. — Tovar Cerulli, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2026 The trailer shows Johnson’s video game avatar being inhabited by the mom of Wolff’s character, while Black’s avatar is taken over by a male restaurant worker. — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2026 Drawing, for him, was a way of inhabiting the world, of making a mark in it and, perhaps, of inventing a place for himself there. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 28 Oct. 2026 Unfortunately for Luca, the camera is inhabited by a demon that forces him to continue a murderous ritual started decades ago by a satanist serial killer (the titular Madison). — Todd Spangler, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for inhabit

Word History

Etymology

Middle English enhabiten, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French inhabiter, enhabiter, from Latin inhabitare, from in- + habitare to dwell, frequentative of habēre to have — more at give

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of inhabit was in the 14th century

Rhymes for inhabit

See All Rhymes for inhabit

Browse Nearby Words

inhabile
inhabit
inhabitability
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Inhabit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inhabit. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

inhabit

verb
in·​hab·​it in-ˈhab-ət How to pronounce inhabit (audio)
: to live or dwell in
inhabitable
-ət-ə-bəl How to pronounce inhabit (audio)
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on inhabit

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for inhabit

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All