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:
The lower court had said people targeted with deportation must be given effective notice ahead of time about where they are being sent to allow them to raise concerns about potential persecution.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
But a change of address meant he missed a court summons, triggering a deportation order that ICE agents noticed.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
His attorney said he entered the country legally and held a valid work permit until an immigration court ordered his deportation in absentia.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
"For now, we have secured a temporary block on his deportation while his case moves forward," Lincoln-Goldfinch wrote on social media.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
I knew it was a deportation center, but those words were abstract until I saw what they meant.
From "Girl in the Blue Coat" by Monica Hesse
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
Combat veterans and decorated service members have been swept up in the mass deportations.
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
Along with focusing on deportations, the administration is deploying other tactics to deter legal, as well as illegal, immigration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 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.
