something that provides an important central source for growth or development; "the taproot of his resentment"; "genius and insanity spring from the same taproot"
(botany) main root of a plant growing straight downward from the stem
the act of populating (causing to live in a place); "he deplored the population of colonies with convicted criminals"
(statistics) the entire aggregation of items from which samples can be drawn; "it is an estimate of the mean of the population"
a group of organisms of the same species populating a given area; "they hired hunters to keep down the deer population"
the people who inhabit a territory or state; "the population seemed to be well fed and clothed"
the number of inhabitants (either the total number or the number of a particular race or class) in a given place (country or city etc.); "people come and go, but the population of this town has remained approximately constant for the past decade"; "the African-American population of Salt Lake City has been increasing"
for or by a group rather than individuals; "dipping each his bread into a communal dish of stew"- Paul Roche; "a communal settlement in which all earnings and food were shared"; "a group effort"
relating to a small administrative district or community; "communal elections in several European countries"
the ordinary members of an organization (such as the enlisted soldiers of an army); "the strike was supported by the union rank and file"; "he rose from the ranks to become a colonel"
agreement in the judgment or opinion reached by a group as a whole; "the lack of consensus reflected differences in theoretical positions"; "those rights and obligations are based on an unstated consensus"