[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/inhabit/)

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# inhabit

verb (inhabit, inhabits, inhabited, inhabiting)

«inhabit» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To inhabit a place means to live in it: «polar bears inhabit the Arctic». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#m1)
2. (formal) To inhabit can also mean to be present in something: «strange creatures inhabit her stories». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#m2)

### In the lessons

In science and geography lessons «inhabit» is used for where living things and people live: «Which animals inhabit the rainforest?». Related words are «inhabitant» (a person or animal that lives somewhere), «habitat» (the natural home of a living thing) and «uninhabited» (with nobody living there: «an uninhabited island»). In maths and geography, «the town has ten thousand inhabitants» gives its population.

### Examples

- Penguins inhabit the cold seas of the southern hemisphere. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x1)
- Which animals inhabit a pond? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x2)
- People have inhabited this valley for thousands of years. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x3)
- The island is not inhabited. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x4)
- Bats inhabit the old church tower. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x5)
- The town has twenty thousand inhabitants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x6)
- Many creatures inhabit the deep ocean. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x7)
- The BIRCH NYMPH is a melancholy maiden with floating hair, resembling the branches of the pale and fragile-looking tree which she inhabits. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/#x8)

### Note

Past «inhabited». It takes an object directly: «inhabit the forest», not «inhabit in the forest». Trap: «inhabited» means lived in, and «uninhabited» means not lived in — but «inhabitable» and «habitable» both mean fit to live in (here «in-» does not mean «not»). Formal; in everyday talk say «live in».

## In Jewish tradition

To dwell in a land. God says the land is where He dwells among Israel.

**Interpretation.** Tradition reads this as meaning the land must be kept pure because God's presence is there.

### Examples

- And thou shalt not defile the land which ye inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the children of Israel.' (Torah NUM.35.34, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inhabit/#x1)
- The righteous shall never be moved; but the wicked shall not inhabit the land. (Writings PRO.10.30, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inhabit/#x2)
- Thou didst crush the heads of leviathan, Thou gavest him to be food to the folk inhabiting the wilderness. (Writings PSA.74.14, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inhabit/#x3)
- And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. (Prophets ISA.65.21, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inhabit/#x4)

### Note

Past «inhabited». It takes an object directly: «inhabit the forest», not «inhabit in the forest». Trap: «inhabited» means lived in, and «uninhabited» means not lived in — but «inhabitable» and «habitable» both mean fit to live in (here «in-» does not mean «not»). Formal; in everyday talk say «live in».

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «inhabit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/inhabit/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«inhabit» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/inhabit.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «inhabit» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/I/inhabit/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«inhabit» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/inhabit.html) on Mova free.