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

André’s began in 1955, when pastry chef André Bollier and his wife Elsbeth immigrated to Kansas City from Switzerland. —Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2025

William Dandjinou eyes 5 golds for Canada Three decades ago, Alain Dandjinou immigrated to Quebec from Ivory Coast and found work as an ice maker. —Nick Zaccardi, NBC news, 29 Oct. 2025

Magana, who went through a similar experience when immigrating to the United States from El Salvador at age 13, found out about Jallow’s situation and the two connected over their love for soccer. —Greg Dudek, Boston Herald, 28 Oct. 2025

Several of the works in the show come from José Bedia, Felix González-Torres, and Ana Mendieta were born in Cuba and later immigrated. —Douglas Markowitz, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025

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