emigration

noun

em·​i·​gra·​tion ˌe-mə-ˈgrā-shən 

plural emigrations

: an act or instance of emigrating : departure from a place of abode, natural home, or country for life or residence elsewhere

… with the advent of steamships, by the 1880s intensive emigration had spread from every corner of the globe.

—B. S. Rabinowitz

Further Chinese emigration to Taiwan was to be carefully limited.

—Jonathan D. Spence

Examples of emigration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But also multi-country emigration tales, as in Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing. — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 11 Aug. 2026

Gaynor, who grew up in Illinois, also credits the books for teaching her about the 19th and early 20th century Swedish emigration in her region. — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 3 July 2026

It was forged during years of shortages, blackouts, mass emigration, and institutional decline. — Tibisay Zea, Christian Science Monitor, 30 June 2026

Oil-rich Venezuela, a country of 28 million that was long among the wealthiest nations in Latin America, has suffered a decade of economic decline and mass emigration. — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for emigration

• abdication
• aberration
• abjuration
• abnegation
• abrogation
• acceptation
• acclamation
• acclimation
• accusation
• activation
• actuation
• acylation

Medical Definition

emigration

noun

em·​i·​gra·​tion ˌem-ə-ˈgrā-shən 

: diapedesis