deport

verb

de·​port di-ˈpȯrt 

dē-

deported; deporting; deports

transitive verb

1

[Latin deportare]

a

: to send out of the country by legal deportation

b

: to carry away

2

: to behave or comport (oneself) especially in accord with a code

Synonyms

• banish
• displace
• exile
• expatriate
• relegate
• transport

Choose the Right Synonym for deport

banish, exile, deport, transport mean to remove by authority from a state or country.

banish implies compulsory removal from a country not necessarily one's own.

banished for seditious activities

exile may imply compulsory removal or an enforced or voluntary absence from one's own country.

a writer who exiled himself for political reasons

deport implies sending out of the country an alien who has illegally entered or whose presence is judged inimical to the public welfare.

illegal aliens will be deported

transport implies sending a convicted criminal to an overseas penal colony.

a convict who was transported to Australia

behave, conduct, deport, comport, acquit mean to act or to cause oneself to do something in a certain way.

behave may apply to the meeting of a standard of what is proper or decorous.

the children behaved in church

conduct implies action or behavior that shows the extent of one's power to control or direct oneself.

conducted herself with unfailing good humor

deport implies behaving so as to show how far one conforms to conventional rules of discipline or propriety.

the hero deported himself in accord with the code of chivalry

comport suggests conduct measured by what is expected or required of one in a certain class or position.

comported themselves as gentlemen

acquit applies to action under stress that deserves praise or meets expectations.

acquitted herself well in her first assignment

Examples of deport in a Sentence

Thousands of immigrants had been illegally deported.

deported them back to their country of birth

Recent Examples on the Web

The families were disappeared, cut off from their lawyers and loved ones, and rushed to be deported, stripping their parents of the chance to protect their U.S. citizen children. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Apr. 2025

President Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, which lets the president deport noncitizens 14 years or older who are from a country with which the U.S. is at war. —John Raby, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2025

The same day, the father was again contacted by an ICE officer who said the mother was in their custody and informed the father that the mother and daughters were going to be deported, court documents showed. —Emma Tucker, CNN Money, 25 Apr. 2025

An immigration judge has already ruled that Mahmoud Khalil can be deported from the U.S. due to his involvement in the protests at Columbia University, saying that the U.S. government met its burden of proof to remove him. —Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French deporter, from Latin deportare to carry away, from de- + portare to carry — more at fare

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for deport

• abort
• airport
• alport
• athwart
• carport
• comport
• consort
• distort
• escort
• exhort
• extort
• forecourt

Kids Definition

deport

verb

de·​port di-ˈpō(ə)rt 

-ˈpȯ(ə)rt

1

: to cause (oneself) to act in a certain way : conduct

deported themselves well in public

2

: to force (a person who is not a citizen) to leave a country

deportation

ˌdē-ˌpōr-ˈtā-shən

-ˌpȯr-

noun

deportee

ˌdē-ˌpōr-ˈtē

-ˌpȯr-

noun

Legal Definition

deport

transitive verb

de·​port di-ˈpōrt 

: to send (an alien) out of a country by order of deportation compare exclude

deportable adjective