emigrate

verb

em·​i·​grate ˈe-mə-ˌgrāt 

emigrated; emigrating

intransitive verb

: to leave one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere

emigrated from Canada to the United States

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an emigrant and an immigrant?

Immigrant and emigrant both refer to a person leaving their own country for another. However, immigrant (and its verb form immigrate) typically stresses the country someone is going to, while emigrant (and its verb emigrate) stresses the country someone is coming from. One is an immigrant to a new country, and an emigrant from an old one. See here for more on the difference between emigrant and immigrant.

Is emigrant a noun or a verb?

Emigrant is a noun, meaning "one who leaves one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere." It is synonymous with émigré, a word that is especially used of a person who has left for political reasons. The verb form of the word is emigrate.

Does emigrant imply illegality?

Both emigrant and immigrant refer to a person who has moved from one country to another, usually in permanent or semi-permanent fashion. Neither word by itself has any connotations of illegality.

Examples of emigrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But by rooting her tale in Maya’s family ties, the writer-director explores the complicity of well-to-do South Asian diasporas, and the foundations that afford them the luxury of emigrating in the first place. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Few Republicans have frustrated Democrats in election after election like Valadao, a dairyman whose family emigrated from Portugal's Azores Islands. — ABC News, 5 Sep. 2026

After her release in 1978, Stötzer once again declined the opportunity to emigrate to the West. — Elisa R. Linn, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026

Corruption was endemic, and the country’s deeper troubles—its poverty, its social inequities, and the hopeless conditions that drive millions of Nepalis to emigrate for work—endured, laying the kindling for last year’s explosion. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin emigratus, past participle of emigrare, from e- + migrare to migrate

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for emigrate

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

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Kids Definition

emigrate

verb

em·​i·​grate ˈem-ə-ˌgrāt 

emigrated; emigrating

: to leave a country or region to live elsewhere

emigration

ˌem-ə-ˈgrā-shən 

noun