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

Dong reportedly immigrated to the United States from China and does not speak English but obtained his CDL in New York in 2024, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. —Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 1 June 2026

One by one, the Iranian tech founders immigrated to Europe and North America. —Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026

The family had immigrated from Moldova in 2008 and settled in Greenfield, just north of Springfield, Massachusetts. —Riley Rourke, CBS News, 1 June 2026

Dimon, whose grandparents immigrated from Greece and Italy and never finished high school, framed the moment in explicitly American terms. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 29 May 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