expatriate

1 of 3

verb

ex·​pa·​tri·​ate ek-ˈspā-trē-ˌāt 

expatriated; expatriating

transitive verb

1

: banish, exile

2

: to withdraw (oneself) from residence in or allegiance to one's native country

intransitive verb

: to leave one's native country to live elsewhere

also : to renounce allegiance to one's native country

expatriate

2 of 3

adjective

ex·​pa·​tri·​ate ek-ˈspā-trē-ət  -trē-ˌāt 

: living in a foreign land

expatriate

3 of 3

noun

ex·​pa·​tri·​ate ek-ˈspā-trē-ət  -trē-ˌāt 

: a person who lives in a foreign country

Hemingway himself in The Sun Also Rises, 1926, had given the picture of the dislocated life of young English and American expatriates in the bars of Paris, the "lost generation," as Gertrude Stein defined them.

—Robert Penn Warren

Synonyms

Verb

• banish
• deport
• displace
• exile
• relegate
• transport

Noun

• deportee
• émigré
• emigré
• evacuee
• exile
• expat [chiefly British]
• refugee

Examples of expatriate in a Sentence

Verb

members of the deposed dictator's once-feared political party were expatriated as well

Noun

while in exile, the deposed king was accompanied by a small band of loyal expatriates

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Some white religious groups believed these individuals could never be truly free in a segregated society, prompting them to support a movement for expatriating free Black people. —Ines De La Cuetara, ABC News, 27 Feb. 2025

Some may benefit from expatriating at the start of a year to simplify tax reporting, while others might prefer year-end expatriation to maximize deductions or credits. —Virginia La Torre Jeker, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025

Adjective

The recent release of the IPU serves as a warning that IRS audits of expatriate tax returns claiming CTC and ACTC are likely to increase. —Virginia La Torre Jeker, J.d., Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025

Wiley, especially, emphasized the expatriate community her shop serves with its array of European chocolates, cheeses and candies and other foods. —Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 2025

Noun

Speaking virtually no English at the time, Mr. Kanevsky joined a community of Ukrainian expatriates who had settled in and around Hoboken, N.J. —Guy Trebay, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025

Dynastic planning should ideally incorporate sufficient flexibility to ensure any irrevocable trust structures do not implicate foreign trust tax and administrative burdens especially when those benefiting from the trusts obtain multiple citizenships, change residencies, or expatriate. —Priya Prakash Royal Esq. Ll.m. Mba Aep Tep, Forbes.com, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Medieval Latin expatriatus, past participle of expatriare to leave one's own country, from Latin ex- + patria native country, from feminine of patrius of a father, from patr-, pater father — more at father

First Known Use

Verb

1768, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Adjective

1812, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1818, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for expatriate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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Kids Definition

expatriate

1 of 3 verb

ex·​pa·​tri·​ate ek-ˈspā-trē-ˌāt 

expatriated; expatriating

: exile entry 2

expatriation

(ˌ)ek-ˌspā-trē-ˈā-shən 

noun

expatriate

2 of 3 adjective

ex·​pa·​tri·​ate ek-ˈspā-trē-ˌāt 

-trē-ət

: living in a foreign country

expatriate

3 of 3 noun

ex·​pa·​tri·​ate

ek-ˈspā-trē-ˌāt,

-trē-ət

: a person living in a foreign country

especially : one who has renounced his or her native country

Legal Definition

expatriate

verb

ex·​pa·​tri·​ate ek-ˈspā-trē-ˌāt 

expatriated; expatriating

transitive verb

: to voluntarily withdraw (oneself) from allegiance to one's native country

intransitive verb

: to renounce allegiance to one's country and abandon one's nationality voluntarily

expatriate

-trē-ət

noun

expatriation

ek-ˌspā-trē-ˈā-shən 

noun