migration

noun

mi·​gra·​tion mī-ˈgrā-shən 

: the act, process, or an instance of migrating

watched the migration of the birds overhead

migrational

mī-ˈgrā-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Examples of migration in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reproducing the motif of a couple posed before a family home became a way of telling stories about migration for artists like Walter Ellison. — Kelly Presutti, ARTnews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Successive generations continue the migration through the United States and Canada, and in the fall their descendants make the return journey to the same mountainous region of Mexico. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 2026

The university has also established guidelines for buildings that have had bird collisions during migration periods to turn off lights and lower shades. — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026

Enterprise-sized businesses spend, on average, 28 percent of their software budgets on unwanted upgrades, migrations, and licensing changes. — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

French or Latin; French, from Latin migration-, migratio, from migratus (past participle of migrare to migrate) + -ion-, -io -ion — more at migrate

First Known Use

circa 1527, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing migration

• pre-migration

Rhymes for migration

• ablation
• aeration
• bination
• carnation
• cassation
• castration
• causation
• centration
• cessation
• cetacean
• chelation
• citation

Kids Definition

migration

noun

mi·​gra·​tion

mī-ˈgrā-shən

1

: the act or an instance of migrating

2

: a group of individuals that are migrating

Medical Definition

migration

noun

mi·​gra·​tion mī-ˈgrā-shən 

: the act, process, or an instance of migrating

migration of larval nematodes to the lungs