migrant

American  

[mahy-gruhnt] / ˈmaɪ grənt /

adjective

1. migrating, especially of people; migratory.

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noun

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

• nonmigrant adjective
• unmigrant adjective

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

"Most migrant workers with meagre earnings can't afford to pay so much," says Rajesh Kumar.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

The BBC spoke to nearly 30 migrant workers in Delhi who said they would have to return to their villages if the situation did not improve.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

In the 2023–24 school year, migrant students accounted for 2.7% of California’s homeless student population — double the national share among homeless students reported the previous year, according to the study.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Europe's top economy is home to the largest Syrian diaspora in the European Union at more than a million, many of whom arrived during the peak of the migrant influx in 2015-2016.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

As migrant Jose Rodas Orellana readies to board a train in Veracruz, a man emerges from his house.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler