noun
settlement; village; community
Refers to a small human settlement, often in a rural or historical context. Can be used for any clustered group of dwellings, from a hamlet to a small town.
山間の小さな集落に住んでいる。
I live in a small mountain settlement.
この地域には古い集落が点在している。
Old villages are scattered throughout this region.
noun
Only with reading しゅうらく
Biology term for a visible cluster of microorganisms growing on a solid medium. Restricted to the reading しゅうらく.
寒天培地に細菌の集落が形成された。
Bacterial colonies formed on the agar medium.