immigrate

verb

im·​mi·​grate ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt 

immigrated; immigrating

intransitive verb

: to enter and usually become established

especially : to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

My grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Italy.

transitive verb

: to bring in or send as immigrants

helped immigrate them

Examples of immigrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As a kid, Havi Nguyen sometimes missed school to translate at doctor’s appointments, and was managing Medicaid paperwork for herself and her sisters, on behalf of their parents who’d immigrated from Vietnam. — Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026

Karen Lichtman, an independent filmmaker from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, spent decades believing her grandparents were the first in her family to immigrate to the United States from Eastern Europe. — Hannah Kliger, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026

Born in Wales, Griffith immigrated to the United States as a teenager in 1865, initially settling in Pennsylvania. — Andrew Coletti, Popular Science, 14 Oct. 2026

Chef Sinan Abdulsatar, who immigrated from Baghdad in 2012, prepares much of the menu throughout the day. — Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin immigratus, past participle of immigrare to remove, go in, from in- + migrare to migrate

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for immigrate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

Kids Definition

immigrate

verb

im·​mi·​grate ˈim-ə-ˌgrāt 

immigrated; immigrating

: to come into a foreign country to live

immigration

ˌim-ə-ˈgrā-shən 

noun