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

Over the past year, groups of a few hundred migrants have typically dispersed within days without traveling beyond southern Mexico. —Arkansas Online, 26 Mar. 2026

However, human rights groups say migrants are being brutalized and pushed back illegally at EU borders, while legal protections are increasingly being hollowed out. —Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026

Deportation hearings in immigration court are legal proceedings initiated by DHS in which an immigration judge determines whether a migrant should be removed from the United States. —Laura Romero, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026

Chicago native Pope Leo XIV also condemned the nation’s recent treatment of migrants. —Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 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