emigrant

noun em·i·grant \ ˈe-mi-grənt \

|Updated on: 19 Jun 2018

Examples: emigrant in a Sentence

Editor's Note: immigrant or emigrant?

Definition of emigrant

1 : one who emigrates

2 : a migrant plant or animal

See emigrant defined for English-language learners

See emigrant defined for kids

Examples of emigrant in a Sentence

Millions of European emigrants came to America in the 19th century.
a city teeming with emigrants from many lands

Recent Examples of emigrant from the Web

Even within the hemisphere, the administration has been focused on the crisis in Venezuela, which has unleashed a massive exodus of emigrants that threatens to destabilize the region.

— nora gámez torres, miamiherald, "Trump is willing to negotiate with North Korea — but not Cuba," 14 June 2018
Challah and Kolkata For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Kolkata was home to a thriving Jewish community, many of them emigrants from Baghdad and Aleppo drawn to the capital of the British Raj.

— michael david lukas, New York Times, "From Cairo to Kolkata, Traces of a Vibrant Jewish Past," 8 June 2018
Why are so many Irish emigrants willing to travel, some over 9,000 miles, and incur a huge personal expense just to vote yes?

— chloe mac donnell, Glamour, "For These Women, Traveling Over 9,000 Miles to Vote in Ireland's Abortion Referendum Isn't a Burden—It's a Necessity," 24 May 2018
But what most gringos know as the classic Mexican style came to Mexico with emigrants from Austria, Germany and Switzerland in the 19th century.

— william bostwick, WSJ, "This Summer’s Must-Have Beers for the Poolside Cooler," 16 May 2018
Droves of emigrants returned home to cast ballots, and those who couldn’t appealed to voters back home with the hashtag #BeMyYes on Twitter.

— jennifer duggan, Marie Claire, "Irish Women Want Their Bodies Back," 15 May 2018
She is considered an emigrant and must obtain a special permit to visit the island.

— nora gámez torres, miamiherald, "She sent her two children on vacation to Cuba. Only one returned to Miami | Miami Herald," 14 May 2018
Many families have loved ones who live abroad, with Los Angeles popular among Iranian emigrants.

— Washington Post, "Analysis: Crumbling of nuclear deal boosts Iran hard-liners," 9 May 2018
Simon's script describes Val as an emigrant from Russia, like Tolkin, who is taking a Berlitz class in English to learn how to curse without a Russian accent.

— don maines, Houston Chronicle, "'Ba-dum-bum!' the cue for laugh lines in Nassau Bay comedy," 1 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'emigrant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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”).