Habitation means a place where people live, or the act of living somewhere. When scientists discover evidence of ancient habitation in a cave, they've found signs that people once made their home there: cooking fires, tools, or sleeping areas. When astronauts talk about the habitation of Mars, they mean establishing a permanent settlement there, where people would carry on their daily lives.

It sounds more formal than just saying “home” or “house,” and it's often used when discussing where and how groups of people live. Archaeologists study patterns of human habitation to understand how ancient civilizations chose their settlements. Were they near water? Good farmland? Natural defenses?

You might read that a building is “unfit for habitation,” meaning it's too damaged or dangerous for people to live in safely. A “habitable planet” is one where humans could theoretically survive. The related word habitat refers to where animals naturally live, while habitation is usually about human dwellings and settlements.