deportation
Americannoun
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deportations
plural
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the lawful expulsion of an alien or other person from a country.
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an act or instance of deporting.
noun
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the act of expelling an alien from a country; expulsion
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the act of transporting someone from his country; banishment
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of deportation
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin dēportātiōn- (stem of dēportātiō ), equivalent to dēportāt(us) (past participle of dēportāre; see deport, -ate 1) + -iōn- noun suffix; see -ion
Explanation
Deportation is the act of throwing a foreigner out of a country, whether they are a resident or an intruder. If you've ever heard that someone was deported — expelled from a country — then you can probably guess that deportation is the act of that happening. Deportation can involve a resident of a country who is tossed out because of a crime. Often, deportation happens to people who enter a country illegally and are caught. A citizen of a country is usually safe from deportation. Deportation means something close to exile. When you see the word deportation, think “Goodbye.”
Vocabulary lists containing deportation
Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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Prisoner B-3087
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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:
In interviews, McClain Delaney said she regretted the vote and that at the time, she didn’t envision the Trump administration carrying out its mass deportation promises.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026
While earlier cases primarily involved ICE pursuing immigrants with final deportation orders, the arrests now involve people with expired visas but another form of legal status pending, such as a green card or asylum application.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
For months, he was separated from his family and faced deportation.
From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2026
Their cases become more complicated if false applications have been filed, making future legal work more expensive and can put them at risk of immediate deportation, Ortiz said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
But the terror of deportation is bigger than a disappointment I’m becoming used to.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
The central controversy of Arendt’s career concerned her claims about Jewish leaders’ roles in compiling lists and administering deportations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Most were from Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, officials say, and the number is likely to rise as repatriations and deportations continue.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
There was more — a lot more, from the Epstein files and the Iran war to incompetence, lying and deportations.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
“We want to keep fighting against the detentions and deportations and making sure that everyone is free.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026
The deportations continued and the ghetto began to seem like a ghost town.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Definitions 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.
