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

These advertisements stressed the importance of allowing Jews to immigrate to Palestine, a small country where there was hostility to such immigration. — Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026

Soon after immigrating from Guatemala at the age of 10, Aguilar saw the importance of up-to-date news during the aftermath of the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. — Vincent Medina, Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Far-right Communications Minister Shomo Karhi recently said in a radio interview that Israelis abroad who wish to influence the country’s future should immigrate. — Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026

Jung, who immigrated with Park from Seoul in 2000, first began roasting coffee beans in a pan 10 years ago under the guidance of his brother, who owns a successful coffee roastery in Washington. — Lauren Ng, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 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
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

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