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

• emigrant
• émigré
• emigré
• immigrant
• in-migrant
• incomer [chiefly British]
• out-migrant
• settler

Examples of migrant in a Sentence

migrants in search of work on farms

Not all birds are migrants.

Recent Examples on the Web

After the end of the civil rights movement, in the late 1960s, the waves of Black migrants fleeing the South slowed. —Victor Luckerson, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Sep. 2024

In August, two people were found dead after a boat carrying migrants trying to cross the Channel ran into difficulties. —Fox News, 3 Sep. 2024

Last August, six people died when a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized. —Emmanuel Miculita and Chris Liakos, CNN, 3 Sep. 2024

Along with logistics for the convention itself, Johnson has said the city is prepared for the possibility that thousands of migrants could arrive from the southern border, sent by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and others. —Olivia Olander, Chicago Tribune, 18 Aug. 2024

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