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

transitive verb

: to bring in or send as immigrants

Examples of immigrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Diana Ho, who immigrated to the US in 1998, says her love for Vietnam’s chicken dishes inspired her to open the North Houston restaurant with business partner Khoa Nguyen. —Bao Ong, Bon Appetit Magazine, 23 Sep. 2025

Her husband was born in Bosnia and came to Canada as a refugee during the conflict, while Nadina was born in Romania and later immigrated to Canada after the revolution there. —Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025

His maternal grandparents immigrated from India. —Caroline Guthrie, ABC News, 20 Sep. 2025

Song broke out with her 2023 drama Past Lives, which follows a woman from Seoul, South Korea, who ponders her relationship with a childhood friend in the decades after her family immigrates to Canada and marries an American man in New York City. —Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2025

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