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

The church said the depiction is supposed to match the experience of migrants in detention facilities and of community members, including children, who were detained during raids. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 5 Dec. 2025

Continue reading … ‘NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK’ – Ilhan Omar denies there are many 'undocumented' Somali migrants in the country. —FOXNews.com, 5 Dec. 2025

Mexican federal envoys pleaded with migrants to return home, promising eventual resettlement within Mexico, but failed to convince them. —Time, 4 Dec. 2025

Trump’s post-election decision to cancel TPS and parole for Venezuelan migrants stripped legal safeguards for hundreds of thousands. —Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Dec. 2025

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