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 of migrant

• immigrant
• refugee
• settler
• emigrant

Examples of migrant in a Sentence

migrants in search of work on farms

Not all birds are migrants.

Recent Examples on the Web

Fueled by misinformation, poverty and lack of opportunities, more than 70,000 would-be migrants from Morocco and beyond swam or climbed over a breakwater last month to try to reach Ceuta, a Spanish exclave on the North African coast. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Magnets for internal migrants and gateways for immigrants, such places tend toward heterogeneity, with spaces for marginalized communities—a pattern that is not just a characteristic of the modern era. — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 17 Aug. 2026

The images of tens of thousands of migrants crossing into the small Spanish enclave came as a shock to Spanish leaders, who had been busy responding to some of the largest wildfires in Spain's history. — Miguel MacIas, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026

Spain has also installed floating barriers in the waters where migrants had previously swam across. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026

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