immigrant

noun

im·mi·grant ˈi-mə-grənt

Synonyms of immigrant next

: one that immigrates: such as

: a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence

: a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it was previously unknown

immigrant adjective

Did you know?

immigrant or emigrant?

Both of these words come from the Latin migrare (“to move from one place to another”), and both have definitions in English that hew closely to their etymological roots, but there is a definite difference between how you would use each one. Emigrant is used in reference to the country that has been left (“an emigrant from Canada”), while immigrant is used in reference the country that one is destined for (“an immigrant to Spain”).

Examples of immigrant in a Sentence

Millions of immigrants came to America from Europe in the 19th century. The city has a large immigrant population.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

His parents, immigrants from Argentina, moved from Eagle Rock to Altadena in the 1970s after finding a home large enough for them and their seven children. —

Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2025 Agents took the names of everyone in the apartment and took at least one person, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, into custody, Gonzalez, 38, said. —

Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 28 Jan. 2025 Trump's executive order attempts to stretch this language to cover broad categories of immigrants. —

Elizabeth Wydra and Nina Henry, Newsweek, 28 Jan. 2025 There is also support for reducing the number of immigrants coming into America legally, finishing the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and declaring a national border emergency. —

G. Elliott Morris, ABC News, 28 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for immigrant