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

The Iverson family had immigrated from Norway at the turn of the century. —Jacob Orledge, ProPublica, 4 Aug. 2025

Political upheaval, war, and genocide propelled the Kurds to immigrate elsewhere—including to the United States in four major waves, the first of which began in 1976. —Nancy Vienneau, Southern Living, 3 Aug. 2025

My mom’s family immigrated to Pennsylvania, one of the first states to abolish slavery, and Maryland from England and Central Europe beginning in the 17th century. —Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 31 July 2025

Both of his parents immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic in the 1960s. —Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 30 July 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