overpopulation
nounUK /ˌəʊvəˌpɒpjʊˈleɪʃn̩/ · US /ˌoʊvɚˌpɑpjəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/
Etymology From over- (prefix meaning ‘excessive; excessively’) + population.
1
Biology, Demographics, Demography, Natural sciences An excessive number of occupants (people, animals, plants, etc.) in a particular area; specifically, when the number of occupants exceeds the ability of that area to provide for them.
- I hope for another end, though not, indeed, from any of the three remedies for over-population commonly suggested by economists. These three are, in brief—Colonization; Bringing in of waste lands; or Discouragement of Marriage.1860 August–December, John Ruskin, “Essay I. The Roots of Honour.”, in “Unto This Last:” Four Essays on the First Principles of Political Economy, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1862, →OCLC, page 162:
- Over the whole extent of the South Seas, from one tropic to another, we find traces of a bygone state of over-population, when the resources of even a tropical soil were taxed, and even the improvident Polynesian trembled for the future.1891 February–December, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Depopulation”, in In the South Seas […], New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published 1896, →OCLC, part I (The Marquesas), page 37:
1 more example
- When it comes to overpopulation as the cause of wildlife loss in Africa, Prince William just won't let it go.2021 November 26, Eliza Anyangwe, “Prince William's overpopulation remarks will do women no favors”, in CNN:
- Antonyms
- underpopulation
- Related terms
- overpopulate, overpopulated, overpopulous