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

The family immigrated from Egypt and applied for asylum after their visas expired. —Christa Swanson, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026

Founded by Italian brothers who immigrated to Texas in the 19th century, Lucchese has been the go-to shop for cowboy boots ever since. —Regan Stephens, Travel + Leisure, 24 Apr. 2026

Owner Remo Mambelli immigrated from Italy in 1990 and is dedicated to bringing a true taste of his home country to guests. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 24 Apr. 2026

Critics, however, link the deletions to broader political messaging by Modi and some BJP leaders, who have repeatedly suggested the revisions of the voter lists targeted people who immigrated illegally from neighboring Bangladesh. —ABC News, 22 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