inhabitant

inhabitant — noun

1. any person, animal, or group that lives permanently in a given location, such as

1.nounB2
Definition

any person, animal, or group that lives permanently in a given location, such as a town, country, or region

Example

The early inhabitants of the island built homes from stone and wood found nearby.

collocation: early inhabitants / original inhabitants

Many of the city's inhabitants use the subway to get to work each morning.

pattern: the inhabitants of [place] + verb

Common collocations
  • early inhabitants
  • original inhabitants
  • local inhabitants
  • first inhabitants
  • indigenous inhabitants
  • the inhabitants of [place]
  • human inhabitants
  • ancient inhabitants
Synonyms
  • resident

    more common in everyday speech; often implies a person living in a specific building or neighbourhood; less used for animals

  • dweller

    less formal; typically appears in compounds like city dweller or cave dweller; emphasises a lifestyle tied to a type of place

  • occupant

    more temporary; describes whoever is currently in or using a space, such as the occupant of a room

  • native

    someone born in a place rather than someone who moved there; carries stronger ties of origin

Antonyms
  • visitor

    someone who goes to a place briefly without living there

  • outsider

    someone who does not belong to a particular community or area

Grammar Patterns

inhabitant of [place]

the inhabitants of [place]

Usage Note

Can refer to both people and animals. For animals, it often describes species that naturally live in a particular environment rather than pets or farm animals kept by humans.

Common Mistakes

The hotel guests are temporary inhabitants.
The hotel guests are temporary visitors.
'inhabitant' suggests a more permanent or long-term residence than a short hotel stay.
The office building has 200 human inhabitants.
The office building has 200 workers.
'inhabitant' is used for people living in a place, not for those who only work there.
The parrots are inhabitants of the cage.
The parrots live in the cage.
'inhabitant' sounds too formal for a small man-made enclosure; it is better suited for natural areas like forests or islands.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All these words describe someone who lives in a place, but they differ in scope and formality. Inhabitant is the most general term — it can refer to both people and animals, and it often describes the population of a large area like a country, island, or region. Resident is more common in daily conversation and usually refers to a person who lives in a specific building, street, or neighbourhood; it often carries a formal or legal nuance, such as a resident of an apartment complex. Occupant is more temporary and narrow — it describes whoever is currently using a space, like the occupant of a seat or hotel room. Dweller is informal and often appears in compound nouns such as city dweller or cave dweller, emphasising the type of place someone lives in. Citizen is a legal term referring to someone who belongs to a nation and enjoys rights and responsibilities there. For example, a permanent resident of New Zealand may not be a citizen, but is still an inhabitant of the country.

resident ↗occupantdwellercitizen ↗native ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • the inhabitants of [place]

Adjectives

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Inhabitant comes from the Latin verb inhabitare, meaning 'to live in'. This was formed from in- ('in') and habitare ('to dwell, to live'), which is related to habere ('to have, to hold'). The word entered English through French in the 1400s, first recorded as 'inhabitaunt'.