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

Dhillon, a Sikh who was born in India and immigrated to the United States as a child, was a prominent figure in conservative legal and political circles even before being tapped to her Justice Department position. — Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026

Chan — who immigrated to the city from Hong Kong at age 13 and has deep ties to its large Chinese and immigrant communities — was a community and legislative aide for years, including for then-Dist. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026

Mantovani, a Miami Beach resident who immigrated to the United States from Argentina as a child, said confusion about the electoral system and doubts about the impact of a single vote kept him from participating in previous elections. — Sabrina Lozano, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

In his remarks, Williams pointed out that Javits immigrated to America legally. — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 31 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