immigrant

noun

im·​mi·​grant ˈi-mə-grənt 

: 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

immigrant adjective

Did you know?

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”).

Synonyms of immigrant

• migrant
• emigrant
• settler
• refugee

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 on the Web

That percentage was reported by CBS, which obtained an internal DHS document that showed that less than 14% of nearly 400,000 immigrants arrested by ICE were charged or convicted of violent criminal offenses. —Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026

But if some of the address was a game show, much of it was a bloody Grand Guignol theater of horror stories, almost all about immigrants preying on the helpless and the innocent. —Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 25 Feb. 2026

Gallagher objected to a $200,000 allocation from the cannabis fund for Illinois Workers in Action, a nonprofit organization with a location in Bolingbrook, to provide legal defense for immigrants with legal status. —Michelle Mullins, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2026

Larson was joined in Washington by Moises Ricardo, a Cuban immigrant who lives in Bristol, and his son, Marlon Ricardo Camejo. —Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 25 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing immigrant

• anti-immigrant

Rhymes for immigrant

• nonimmigrant

Kids Definition

immigrant

noun

im·​mi·​grant ˈim-i-grənt 

1

: a person who comes to a country to live there

2

: a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it did not occur previously

immigrant adjective