The Collaborative International Dictionary
Populate \Pop"u*late\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Populated; p. pr. & vb. n. Populating.] To furnish with inhabitants, either by natural increase or by immigration or colonization; to cause to be inhabited; to people.
Wiktionary
vb. (present participle of populate English)
Usage examples of "populating".
The handful of fertile men and women aboard this ship aren't going to be a significant factor in populating New Earth, and you know it.
But now it is quite certain that some variation from tradition is going to be required eventually, because ideally everyone will be expected to play an active role in populating the new world, or so the general assumption goes at this point, and now it will be impossible to match every woman of the expedition with one and only one man.
In such remote epochs, we may discover outlets for our ambitions far grander and more worthy than merely populating an unlimited number of worlds.
In contrast, the figures populating this historical vista, clad in revealing silk garments of diverse hues, looked quite hairless, with smooth, uncovered flesh whose skin tones ranged from a pale yellow to a deep, ruddy red.
She glanced around her, checking out the various fragile humanoids populating the bridge.
There was no way of evaluating every one of the quadrillions of human beings populating the Galaxy.
Perhaps they were few in numbers and needed help, particularly in the great task of exploring and populating the Galaxy.