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Glite Dictionary
👥 Limiting people growth 🖥️ Managing solutions
population control

population control

4.3
Controlling how many and which possible answers a computer program keeps during a search
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : control de población
  • The chemostat model of population control

Examples

  • The study focused on population control methods that help optimize the performance of algorithms in artificial intelligence.

  • This centralization of transport allows the military to monitor the inhabitants closely, transforming water control into a method of population control.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Using strict population control measures, the government aimed to stabilize the rapidly growing city.

  • Many countries implement population control strategies to address issues related to overpopulation and resource allocation.

Surface Forms

population control singular
population controls plural

Morphology

population + control

The meaning of 'population control' — managing or limiting a population — is directly and compositionally derived from 'population' (a group of individuals) + 'control' (management/mechanism). This composition is cross-linguistically common and remains understandable even when applied metaphorically to algorithmic 'populations', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Population control in computer work borrows the same picture: a 'population' is a group of possible answers and 'control' means choosing or removing some each round, like a gardener removing weak plants so the best ones grow. So it means 'managing or limiting the number or mix of possible solutions'.