immigrate

verb

im·​mi·​grate ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt 

immigrated; immigrating

intransitive verb

: to enter and usually become established

especially : to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

My grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Italy.

transitive verb

: to bring in or send as immigrants

helped immigrate them

Examples of immigrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

After immigrating to the United States from Montenegro at age 20, Popovic began working in the moving industry. —Nia Bowers, USA Today, 8 Apr. 2026

Born in Manila, Philippines, in the final years of the Marcos dictatorship, Damatac immigrated to the United States as a child. —Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Apr. 2026

Saul was born in Mexico and immigrated to the United States in his early teens. —Liza Esquibias, PEOPLE, 6 Apr. 2026

Yet, by God’s grace, my Hispanic grandparents immigrated to the United States on July 4, 1976, and have cherished the freedoms from tyranny that have come with living here ever since. —Stephen Mitchell, Baltimore Sun, 2 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin immigratus, past participle of immigrare to remove, go in, from in- + migrare to migrate

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for immigrate

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

Kids Definition

immigrate

verb

im·​mi·​grate ˈim-ə-ˌgrāt 

immigrated; immigrating

: to come into a foreign country to live

immigration

ˌim-ə-ˈgrā-shən 

noun