n 1  :  the whole number of people or inhabitants 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 a particular 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 .
 
 
 
Similar sounding terms:  pap·u·la·tion 
 
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