immigrant

noun im·mi·grant \ ˈi-mə-grənt \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Examples: immigrant in a Sentence

Editor's Note: immigrant or emigrant?

Definition of immigrant

: one that immigrates: such as

a : a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence

b : a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it was previously unknown

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immigrant

adjective

See immigrant defined for English-language learners

See immigrant defined for kids

Examples of immigrant in a Sentence

Millions of immigrants came to America from Europe in the 19th century.
The city has a large immigrant population.

Recent Examples of immigrant from the Web

Trump's public life has been filled with controversial statements about immigrants.

— jesse j. holland and russell contreras, chicagotribune.com, "Trump draws fierce criticism for saying immigration is 'changing the culture' of Europe for worse," 14 July 2018
Between May 7 and June 20, the Trump administration instructed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to place any adult immigrants who crossed the border illegally in federal custody.

— phil mccausland /, NBC News, "Government says around 2,551 migrant children still need reunification with parents," 14 July 2018
Fundraising efforts are going on around the country to support organizations that are working to protect immigrants and bring families back together.

— nina bahadur, SELF, "6 Impactful Ways to Help Migrant Families Separated at the Border," 13 July 2018
Unlike Greenwald, who had 30 years of dentistry under his belt, Kool Smiles recruits were mostly young, inexperienced dentists and recent immigrants.

— CBS News, ""Whistleblower": Former employees take on pediatric dental chain when they suspect the company of wrongdoing," 13 July 2018
Since taking the helm in 2017, Simons has mounted runway shows that paint an elegiacal portrait of the American Dream through the eyes of an immigrant.

— robin givhan, Houston Chronicle, "Nothing else Melania Trump wears will ever matter again," 13 July 2018
Well, the town was laid out in 1818 by Scottish immigrant John Craig, who named the town after the Cheviot hills straddling the border of England and southern Scotland.

— justin reutter, Cincinnati.com, "Ewe won't believe how Cheviot is celebrating its baaah-centennial," 12 July 2018
The bill would establish a 17-member commission that would include eight members of Congress and nine representatives from immigrants' rights organizations.

— william cummings, USA TODAY, "House Democrats introduce bill to abolish ICE, create 'humane' immigration system," 12 July 2018
Federal officials have estimated that as many as 3,000 children are in government custody after being taken from immigrants who entered the country without authorization.

— elaine ayala, San Antonio Express-News, "Unmarked vans, security fences: family reunification proceeds behind curtain of secrecy," 12 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'immigrant.' 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”).