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

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Etymology

Origin of migrant

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

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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

Decorated pots were also produced using higher quality clay, suggesting that the migrant potters were allowed access to scarce, superior materials for their work.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

They’re saving because a hospital bill could wipe them out, rural pensions are a pittance and migrant workers in cities still can’t access urban social-safety nets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

This week, CNN reported that 25 migrant children, several without a lawyer, had a hearing in a Texas court.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

The Being is alien, mystical and magical, a migrant finding her way in a new world.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Then, when he was sixty-three years old, he quietly donated the entire amount to buy the land to build the migrant shelter.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Eritreans were the most common nationality among small boats migrants in the 12 months to June - accounting for 18% of arrivals, external, according to figures from the House of Commons Library.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

At least 139 migrants died, including 15 children, and 84 went missing when an overcrowded boat sank while heading from Djibouti to Yemen, a UN agency said Sunday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

In 2025, more than 900 migrants died or went missing along the sea route to Yemen and the number attempting the journey increased by 18 percent, the IOM said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Despite this conflict - and growing instability across the wider region - migrants still cross the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Yemen driven by poverty, insecurity and the growing impacts of climate change.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

Local residents see groups of migrants walking down dirt roads naked, stripped of everything.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

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Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler

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