migrant

noun

mi·​grant ˈmī-grənt 

plural migrants

: someone or something that migrates: such as

a

: a person who moves regularly in order to find work especially in harvesting crops

farms employing migrants during the growing season

b

: immigrant sense a

especially : refugee

… administration officials announced they would work to swiftly screen migrants seeking asylum at the border … and penalize people who cross illegally into the U.S. or illegally through another country on their way to the U.S. border.

—Colleen Long

c

: an animal (such as a gray whale, monarch butterfly, leatherback sea turtle, or Canada goose) that moves usually long distances from one habitat or geographic region to another

migrant adjective

migrant labor

migrant birds

Synonyms

• emigrant
• émigré
• emigré
• immigrant
• in-migrant
• incomer [chiefly British]
• out-migrant
• settler

Examples of migrant in a Sentence

migrants in search of work on farms

Not all birds are migrants.

Recent Examples on the Web

Under the Trump administration, the Border Patrol began expelling migrants without giving them the opportunity to seek asylum. —Sara Chernikoff, USA TODAY, 17 July 2024

At rallies and other campaign events, Trump has pointed to examples of migrants who committed heinous crimes and has blamed migration for the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl, even though federal data suggests many people smuggling fentanyl across the border are U.S. citizens. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 17 July 2024

His administration also carried out over 4 million deportations, expulsions and returns of migrants since 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security data. —Laura Doan, CBS News, 16 July 2024

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says migrants make invaluable contributions to a society with an aging population — a thought few leaders in the region express — and his government is taking steps to regularize half a million of them. —Ben Sills, Fortune Europe, 15 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin migrant-, migrans, present participle of migrare

First Known Use

1760, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing migrant

• in-migrant
• out-migrant

Kids Definition

migrant

noun

mi·​grant ˈmī-grənt 

: a person, animal, or plant that migrates

migrant adjective