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

Suarez immigrated from Venezuela and has lived in New York for a decade. —Ali Bauman, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

In an interview with the Asian Journal News, Claustro described growing up poor in Pomona as the eldest of seven siblings whose parents immigrated from a small Mexican town. —Tony Saavedra, Oc Register, 7 Jan. 2026

After sponges were discovered off the coast of Tarpon Springs, Greek divers, who had superior methods for harvesting them, immigrated to grow the industry. —Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026

Avila immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic in the 1980s. —Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 4 Jan. 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