undercrowd

English

Etymology

under- +‎ crowd

Verb

undercrowd (third-person singular simple present undercrowds, present participle undercrowding, simple past and past participle undercrowded)

1. To underfill; to fill with too low a population density.
   • 1952, California Teachers Association, CTA Journal - Volume 48, page 51:

     It is hard to set numerical limits on the size of classes, but it is certain that conditions in California tend to overcrowd rather than undercrowd.

   • 1989, Behavior genetics - Volume 19, page 304:

     The number of flies placed into the vials on the fourteenth day was approximated; i.e., an attempt was made not to overcrowd the vials but yet not undercrowd the vials (in order to promote egg retention).

   • 2002, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium - Volume 25, Issues 1-3, page 86:

     The steps to maintaining these criteria are simple; undercrowd, underfeed, properly filter, and do regular maintenance (in particular water changes) regularly.