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.
The rate of immigrants who are opting for “self deportation” increased by a factor of 28 in 2025 compared with 2024, according to statistics External link gathered by the Deportation Data Project.
From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026
Deportation flights started back up, regularly departing from the U.S. to Caracas every Wednesday and Friday.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 5, 2026
This includes a second facility in Florida dubbed "Deportation Depot", and another in Indiana that homeland security officials have named the "Speedway Slammer".
From BBC • Aug. 28, 2025
“I asked the Deportation Officer to share with me why she would be placed in Expedited Removal,” Butler-Christensen wrote in a sworn declaration.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2025
Uncle Abraham and Aunt Fela were pulled from their home in a Deportation.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
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.
