immigrate

play

verb im·mi·grate \ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt\

Definition of immigrate

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

immigration

play \ˌi-mə-ˈgrā-shən\ noun

immigrational

play \ˌi-mə-ˈgrā-shnəl, -shə-n^əl\ adjective

See immigrate defined for English-language learners

See immigrate defined for kids

Recent Examples of immigrate from the Web

Muraoka immigrated to the U.S. from Yokohama, Japan in 1915 and built a thriving agriculture business over three decades in Chula Vista.

— allison sampite-montecalvo, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Honoring Japanese roots, Muraoka Elementary opens in Chula Vista," 17 July 2017
Diabate said the family began the process to immigrate to the U.S. in 2005.

— pat mcdonogh, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville immigrants share stories of terror, love and courage on their road to America," 29 June 2017
On immigrating to New York: Coming over as an immigrant of color, that's always a challenge.

— jonah flicker, Esquire, "Marcus Samuelsson on How 'Claiming' a Culture's Food Is Not the Same as Loving It," 28 June 2017
Born on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, Stirrup (1873-1957) immigrated to Key West in 1888 at age 15 and worked as a carpenter’s apprentice.

— dorothy jenkins fields, miamiherald, "Miami pioneer’s descendants return to South Florida for biennial family reunion," 28 June 2017
On immigrating to New York: Coming over as an immigrant of color, that's always a challenge.

— jonah flicker, Esquire, "Marcus Samuelsson on How 'Claiming' a Culture's Food Is Not the Same as Loving It," 28 June 2017
Enrique Diaz’s parents, Antonio and Dolores Diaz, immigrated illegally into the U.S. in 1972 with Enrique, their eldest son.

— tatiana sanchez, The Mercury News, "From farmworker fields to MIT: Gilroy family shares success story," 7 June 2017
Brain drain, a term which originated in the 1960s when British scientists and intellectuals immigrated to the U.S., refers to the loss of human capital.

— karl lester m yap, Bloomberg.com, "Brain Drain from Southeast Asia Poses Obstacle to Growth," 5 June 2017
Baker noted many of the people in the camps were born in the United States and had never known another home, but many of their parents had immigrated from Japan.

— graham perednia, The Seattle Times, "‘Most lost everything they had’: Centralia museum honors interned Japanese-Americans," 3 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'immigrate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of immigrate

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1623

See Words from the same year

IMMIGRATE Defined for English Language Learners

immigrate

play

verb

Definition of immigrate for English Language Learners

: to come to a country to live there

IMMIGRATE Defined for Kids

immigrate

play

verb im·mi·grate \ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt\

Definition of immigrate for Students

immigrated

;

immigrating

: to come into a foreign country to live

Headscratcher for immigrate

Immigrate and emigrate are very close in meaning. What's the difference? It depends on a person's point of view. Emigrate stresses leaving a place, while immigrate focuses on entering a new one.