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 politician said his father immigrated to the United States from South Korea 50 years ago and was born with polio. —Christine Sloan, CBS News, 12 Mar. 2026

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose parents immigrated from Cuba, has been negotiating with Cuba’s leadership to avoid a military confrontation. —Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 10 Mar. 2026

Kayumi’s parents immigrated from Afghanistan and became citizens in 2004 and 2009. —Stepheny Price , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Greg Wehner , Cb Cotton, FOXNews.com, 9 Mar. 2026

It was founded in 1856 by French butcher Guillaume Tujague who immigrated to the United States with his wife Marie Abadie. —Stephanie Gallman Jordan, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 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