deport

American  

[dih-pawrt, -pohrt] / dɪˈpɔrt, -ˈpoʊrt /

verb (used with object)

• deports,
  present (3rd person singular)
• deported,
  past participle,  past
• deporting
  present participle

1. to expel (an alien) from a country; banish.

2. to send or carry off; transport, especially forcibly.

   The country deported its criminals.

3. to bear, conduct, or behave (oneself ) in a particular manner.

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deport British  

/ dɪˈpɔːt /

verb

1. to remove (an alien) forcibly from a country; expel

2. to carry (an inhabitant) forcibly away from his homeland; transport; exile; banish

3. to conduct, hold, or behave (oneself) in a specified manner

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• deportee
  noun
• deporter
  noun
• deportable
  adjective
• nondeportable
  adjective
• nondeported
  adjective
• undeported
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• deporting
  present
• deported
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• deport
  simple
• deports
  simple
• have deported
  perfect
• has deported
  perfect
• am deporting
  progressive
• are deporting
  progressive
• is deporting
  progressive
• have been deporting
  perfect progressive
• has been deporting
  perfect progressive

Past

• deported
  simple
• had deported
  perfect
• was deporting
  progressive
• were deporting
  progressive
• had been deporting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will deport
  simple
• will have deported
  perfect
• will be deporting
  progressive
• will have been deporting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of deport

1475–85; < Middle French déporter < Latin dēportāre to carry away, banish oneself, equivalent to dē- de- + portāre to carry; see port ⁵

Explanation

To deport is to kick someone out of a country. Deporting is also to deliver a person to the authorities of another country. Although you might like to deport your little brother from your room, it’s something governments do. Governments have the power to deport. When you're deported, you get thrown out of a country, often because you were there illegally. This type of deporting is similar to exiling. Another form of deporting is even harsher: sometimes a person is not only tossed out of one country, but handed over to the government of another country. This is also called being extradited, and it usually happens to people wanted for a crime in the second country.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deport deports deported deporting

Khalil, who is still fighting the government’s efforts to deport him from the U.S., said the university’s failure to keep him safe from such harassment “directly led” to his March 2025 arrest and attempted deportation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026

Previous governments have struggled to quickly deport foreign offenders and there are not thought to be any new returns agreements with other countries.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

The Justice Department has filed a first-ever petition to a secretive and dormant court created 30 years ago to weigh government requests to deport so-called ‘alien terrorists’ from the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

"It's logistically relatively easy for ICE to deport them to a third country," she added.

From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026

When the Nazis came looking for Jews to deport, all the people who lived on the streets found places to hide.

From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz

Apparently, the administration is casting a very wide net as it detains and deports people.

From Salon ● May 25, 2025

Australia deports foreigners convicted of crimes as part of an immigration crackdown that can also strip dual-nationals of Australian citizenship.

From Reuters ● Jun. 10, 2022

The statement did not explicitly state when the deportation would take place, but China typically deports convicted foreigners only after they have completed their prison sentence.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2021

ICE detains and deports immigrants, but it also has an investigative arm, Homeland Security Investigations, which arrests Americans and foreign nationals for crimes such as human trafficking.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2021

December 21: The United States deports 249 people that it has accused of being anarchists.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler

A temporary stay order from the Lahore High Court stopped students in Punjab, such as Nooria, from being deported immediately until the next hearing, scheduled for Friday.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The judge said his work with the British Army in Afghanistan might mean he was not deported.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Born in a refugee camp in Sudan, she arrived in the US aged two and is among hundreds of people, including with legal protection, deported to African countries over the last 18 months.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

Emilia Castaneda was no more than 10 years old when her Boyle Heights family was deported in the 1930s.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

When he returned to Germany after being deported, he was made a lieutenant and worked in the Abwehr, the Intelligence Department of the German Army.

From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple

Extra prison space would also be created by deporting more foreign prisoners and releasing some inmates serving indefinite sentences.

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

Undocumented residents don’t enjoy the same legal rights as citizens, and deporting someone is a much lower lift, legally speaking, than prosecuting someone for a crime they didn’t commit.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

The U.S. has begun deporting immigrants to Liberia, officials in the West African country said, part of President Trump’s wider plan to send migrants to third-party countries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The government’s lawyers say immigration laws call for deporting non-citizens with “aggravated felonies” on their records.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

These buses make as many as eight runs a day, deporting more than 100,000 unhappy passengers every year.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario