deportation
Americannoun
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the lawful expulsion of an alien or other person from a country.
-
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.
When asked if the law should be changed to allow the deportation of the Ahmed, Richards said: "I think it's very difficult to change the law to look retrospectively."
From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026
When immigration agents came to his door with a deportation order, Serrano’s family was worried but also relieved to know that they would get to see him again soon.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2026
Authorities from Washington to Stockholm are pulling up the drawbridge to immigrants, wielding deportation orders.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026
Mukherjee has been working with immigrant families detained at Texas’ Dilley Immigration Processing Center to file habeas petitions and has also contributed to cases for pro-Palestine activists and students targeted for deportation.
From Slate • Jun. 26, 2026
It was with this voice that she enumerated, twice a day as she swept the stairwell, the details of her plight and losses suffered since her deportation to Calcutta after Partition.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
