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

An altercation after an ICE officer shot a Venezuelan migrant in the leg last week turned violent. —Caroline Cummings, CBS News, 23 Jan. 2026

Many Venezuelan migrants lived in the building and were taken in the raid. —Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026

Her killing, and another shooting involving a Venezuelan migrant by an ICE officer in the city a week later, sparked waves of intense protests across the state. —Sarah Davis, The Hill, 22 Jan. 2026

Those numbers then plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic prompted invocation of the Title 42 public health law, allowing CBP to expel migrants more quickly, with restricted pathways to asylum. —Bill Chappell, NPR, 21 Jan. 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