immigrate
verb
im·mi·grate
ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt 
immigrated; immigrating
: 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.
: to bring in or send as immigrants
helped immigrate them
Examples of immigrate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Sheriff immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in 2018.
—
Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Tanimoto’s father, who grew up in Hiroshima — the Japanese city later devastated by the first atomic bomb — immigrated to Hawaii before raising his family in Northern California and had recently retired from farming.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026
But while law enforcement has championed the agreements, immigration attorneys say many arrests are indiscriminate, that the majority of ICE enforcement actions in Oklahoma target immigrants with no criminal charges, and some who are following the law to legally immigrate.
—Ben Fenwick, Oklahoma Watch, 18 Feb. 2026
For our small town, diversity was the default — thanks to the immigration policies of the 1990s that allowed our families to not only immigrate here but thrive.
—Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for immigrate
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Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 19 Feb. 2026
Tanimoto’s father, who grew up in Hiroshima — the Japanese city later devastated by the first atomic bomb — immigrated to Hawaii before raising his family in Northern California and had recently retired from farming.
—Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026
But while law enforcement has championed the agreements, immigration attorneys say many arrests are indiscriminate, that the majority of ICE enforcement actions in Oklahoma target immigrants with no criminal charges, and some who are following the law to legally immigrate.
—Ben Fenwick, Oklahoma Watch, 18 Feb. 2026
For our small town, diversity was the default — thanks to the immigration policies of the 1990s that allowed our families to not only immigrate here but thrive.
—Melanie Anzidei, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for immigrate
Cite this Entry
“Immigrate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immigrate. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
immigrate
verb
im·mi·grate
ˈim-ə-ˌgrāt
immigrated; immigrating
: to come into a foreign country to live
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