emigrate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
emigrates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
emigrated,
past participle, past
-
emigrating
present participle
verb
Usage
What does emigrate mean? Emigrate means to permanently leave home in one country or region to settle in another. The act or occurrence of emigrating is called emigration. A person who is emigrating or has emigrated can be called an emigrant. What’s the difference between emigrate, immigrate, and migrate?To migrate is to move from one place to another (and perhaps back and forth). To emigrate is to move out, and to immigrate is to move in. For this reason, the word emigrate is commonly followed by from and the home country, whereas immigrate is commonly followed by to and the destination country. Of course, emigrate and immigrate are two ways to describe the same process—people who are emigrating are also immigrating (if they leave, they have to go somewhere). But there are good reasons to use each word in different situations. For example, one country may be a common destination for people to immigrate to, while another may be a place that people are frequently emigrating from. The words migrate and immigrate are more likely to be used to describe such relocation in a general way (that is, a way that takes both the starting point and the destination into account), whereas emigrate is almost always about the starting point. Example: The lack of employment has caused a significant number of people to emigrate, with many highly skilled workers leaving the country.
Synonym Usage
See migrate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
reemigrateverb (used without object)
-
emigrativeadjective
-
emigratoryadjective
-
unemigratingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
emigratesimple
-
emigratessimple
-
have emigratedperfect
-
has emigratedperfect
-
am emigratingprogressive
-
are emigratingprogressive
-
is emigratingprogressive
-
have been emigratingperfect progressive
-
has been emigratingperfect progressive
Past
-
emigratedsimple
-
had emigratedperfect
-
was emigratingprogressive
-
were emigratingprogressive
-
had been emigratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of emigrate
First recorded in 1770–80; from Latin ēmīgrātus “moved away” (past participle of ēmīgrāre ), equivalent to ē- “from, away from, out of” ( see e- 1) + mīgrātus ( mīgr- “remove” + ātus verb suffix ( see -ate 1)
Explanation
If you move to a different country, you emigrate. For example, if you emigrate from Canada and go to Italy, you aren't on vacation — you are making Italy your new home. Benvenuti! The verb emigrate comes from the Latin word emigrare, which means “move away,” or “depart from a place.” The words emigrate and immigrate both mean that a person has decided to permanently live in a foreign country, but to emigrate is to leave your country, and to immigrate is to come into a new country. To emigrate is to exit.
Vocabulary lists containing emigrate
Commonly Confused Words, List 1
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"A Place to Call Home," Vocabulary from the research study
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Geography
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He said it has become the “last straw” for him, and he has decided to leave Venezuela and emigrate to Europe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Deteriorating conditions are driving thousands of young people to emigrate to Brazil and Uruguay, said Everleny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Zemlinsky did manage to emigrate to New York but died of pneumonia in 1942 without having been able to revive his career.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Given the proximity, many Cubans who do not identify with Havana's politics emigrate to the US, which is one of the reasons why Miami has such a large Cuban-American demographic.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
Could not, even if he wanted to, emigrate.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
The two lose contact for 12 years after Nora’s family emigrates to the United States and reconnect after Hae-sung finds her again on Facebook.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2024
The top prize for best feature went to drama Past Lives, about childhood sweethearts in South Korea who are separated when one emigrates to the US.
From BBC ● Nov. 28, 2023
“No one emigrates from their country because they want to. One migrates because you have basic needs and there isn’t support in your native country,” she said, starting to cry.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
It also alluded to a social reality — the way kitchen houses are locked up when a family emigrates.
From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2022
Suppose a citizen of Virginia emigrates to the territory south of the line with his property.
From A Report of the Debates and Proceedings in the Secret Sessions of the Conference Convention For Proposing Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, Held at Washington, D.C., in February, A.D. 1861 by L. E. (Lucius Eugene) Chittenden
My father emigrated from Havana as a child.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Ma’s parents emigrated from China and eventually settled in New York.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Her three siblings have already emigrated, and she is considering shutting down her small delicatessen to follow them abroad.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
The parallels don't end there, as Kennedy, similar to the characters in Stations, also emigrated to England in the 1980s.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Her mom and dad had emigrated from Cuba during the mid-1990s.
From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein
Omar’s family was granted asylum in the United States in 1995, having spent years in Kenyan refugee camps after emigrating from Somalia due to the country’s civil war.
From Slate ● Oct. 13, 2026
In their last conversation, he suggested emigrating to Hawaii where he believed mixed-race marriages were more acceptable.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Alex Golesh only discovered the game after emigrating to the U.S. from the Soviet Union.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
She’s working on her third novel, on Malaysia, where she was born before emigrating at age 2.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
One of the many downsides of emigrating from one country to another is that you're not always left with the option to follow your dreams.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
