immigrant

noun

im·​mi·​grant ˈi-mə-grənt How to pronounce immigrant (audio)
: one that immigrates: such as
a
: a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence
b
: a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it was previously unknown
immigrant adjective

Did you know?

immigrant or emigrant?

Both of these words come from the Latin migrare (“to move from one place to another”), and both have definitions in English that hew closely to their etymological roots, but there is a definite difference between how you would use each one. Emigrant is used in reference to the country that has been left (“an emigrant from Canada”), while immigrant is used in reference the country that one is destined for (“an immigrant to Spain”).

Examples of immigrant in a Sentence

Millions of immigrants came to America from Europe in the 19th century. The city has a large immigrant population.
Recent Examples on the Web Wong and others in the 17-person group bow three times, holding the burning incense in memory of the Chinese immigrants buried here. Michael Laris, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said this month that the growth of immigrants in the workforce had strengthened economic growth. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024 Born on the Fourth of July in 1929 and raised in Maryland by Greek immigrants, Peter Angelos rose from a blue-collar background to launch a firm in his own name after receiving his law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1961. CBS News, 23 Mar. 2024 Senate Bill 4, signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, makes entering Texas illegally a state crime and allows Texas officials to order immigrants to be deported. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 22 Mar. 2024 His views were shaped growing up in nearby Trafford, his Italian immigrant father working in a steel mill making guns for World War II troops, who would leave town on the trains that passed near his home. Billy Witz, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024 Checkered Pasts Many owners and workers at Oklahoma marijuana farms are Fujianese immigrants who arrived in recent years from other U.S. states, particularly New York, according to law enforcement officials and Chinese American leaders. Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024 On the show, Rodgers promoted a claim, without evidence, that immigrants who speak Spanish or Chinese are looking to join the U.S. military and then potentially turn on the country, MSNBC reported. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024 Latino immigrants, however, are more likely to get news from Latino news outlets than Latinos born in the U.S., 69% versus 33%. Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 19 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'immigrant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1789, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of immigrant was in 1789

Dictionary Entries Near immigrant

Cite this Entry

“Immigrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immigrant. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

immigrant

noun
im·​mi·​grant ˈim-i-grənt How to pronounce immigrant (audio)
1
: a person who comes to a country to live there
2
: a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it did not occur previously
immigrant adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on immigrant

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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