immigrate

im·mi·grate | \ ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt

How to pronounce immigrate (audio)

\

immigrated; immigrating

Definition of immigrate

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 Yet folks still seem to want to immigrate to California in droves, judging by the traffic. — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, "Dear Abby: Mom wants son’s long-time girlfriend included in family events," 29 Nov. 2020 Inspired by Sakharov, Sharansky applied for a visa to immigrate to Israel in 1973. — Matthew Continetti, National Review, "Natan Sharansky and the Meaning of Freedom," 28 Nov. 2020 Yap-Banango was the first person in her family to immigrate to the United States, and her death left relatives grieving across continents. — Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, "Covid-19 is taking a devastating toll on Filipino American nurses," 24 Nov. 2020 An advocate for using IQ tests to select who is allowed to legally immigrate to the United States has been given a high-ranking position at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). — Jeffrey Mervis, Science | AAAS, "Proponent of using IQ tests to screen immigrants named to senior NIST post," 9 Nov. 2020 Who wins Tuesday's presidential election could affect several issues key for the venture-capital industry, such as the ability of entrepreneurs to immigrate to the U.S. and the tax treatment of capital gains. — Yuliya Chernova, WSJ, "Immigration and Taxes Are Among the Election Issues That Matter to VCs," 3 Nov. 2020 Some have turned to Britain, Hong Kong’s former colonial master, which has expanded channels for the city’s residents to immigrate. — New York Times, "As China Clamps Down, Activists Flee Hong Kong for Refuge in the West," 24 Oct. 2020 Since then, Israel has allowed around 2,000 of the Ethiopians to immigrate. — Adam Rasgon, New York Times, "Israel Accepts Ethiopians of Jewish Descent, but Fewer Than Promised," 12 Oct. 2020 Families immigrate, end up homeless or live through natural disasters. — Vanessa Lobue, The Conversation, "Stressful times are an opportunity to teach children resilience," 28 Sep. 2020

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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about immigrate

Dictionary Entries near immigrate

immigration pressure

Statistics for immigrate

Last Updated

10 Dec 2020

Cite this Entry

“Immigrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immigrate. Accessed 19 Jan. 2021.

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

conjecture

Listen to the pronunciation of conjecture

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Words of Snow and Ice Quiz

Which of the following refers to thin, bending ice, or to the act of running over such ice?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Anagram puzzles meet word search.