migrant

American  

[mahy-gruhnt] / ˈmaɪ grənt /

adjective

1. migrating, especially of people; migratory.

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noun

• migrants
  plural

1. a person or animal that migrates.

2. a person who attempts to permanently relocate to a new country, but who may be subject to removal by the government of that country: unaccompanied child migrants.

   undocumented migrants;

   unaccompanied child migrants.

3. Also called migrant worker.  a person who moves from place to place to get work, especially a farm laborer who harvests crops seasonally.

migrant British  

/ ˈmaɪɡrənt /

noun

1. a person or animal that moves from one region, place, or country to another

2. an itinerant agricultural worker who travels from one district to another

3. 1. an immigrant, esp a recent one

   2. ( as modifier )

      a migrant hostel

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adjective

1. moving from one region, place, or country to another; migratory

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonmigrant
  adjective
• unmigrant
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• migrants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of migrant

1665–75; < Latin migrant- (stem of migrāns ), present participle of migrāre. See migrate, -ant

Explanation

A migrant worker is someone who travels for a job––in the U.S., many farm workers migrate from Mexico every year to work on the harvest and then return home when their jobs are over. If you have traveled into a new country, you are said to have immigrated there, and you are an immigrant. An emigrant is someone who has left. Migrant doesn't refer to whether you are coming in or out––often it means someone who often travels back and forth, like migrant birds who migrate south every winter, year after year.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

migrant migrants

Western Germany is also close - but not too close - to the more heavily patrolled beaches of northern France from where migrant boats launch.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The blue shark is a long-distance migrant that is present in Irish waters usually from June to October, when it is taken by recreational anglers on a catch-and-release basis, according to Inland Fisheries Ireland, external.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The Schengen suspension set a risky precedent for Italy, the EU country that has recorded the highest number of irregular migrant arrivals in recent years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

But it also raised new questions about whether the administration would ensure legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

A few bring bags of cement, to help build the migrant shelter.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

The boats could have taken more than 2,000 migrants across the Channel illegally, according to the UK's National Crime Agency.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

Arday’s back story—an autistic child of Ghanaian migrants who couldn’t speak until he was 11 and went on to become a trail blazer at Cambridge—came under scrutiny earlier this summer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

"As migrants, we've already been through some tough things back in our own country, and you never imagine something like this would happen on top of that," said the 28-year-old construction worker.

From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026

The government has sought to house migrants at military sites across the country instead, announcing in June that it planned to open three more including the site in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Scores of migrants cling to the train, but no one is within shouting distance.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler