emigration
AmericanUsage
What does emigration mean? Emigration is the act or occurrence of emigrating—permanently leaving home in one country or region to settle in another.A person who is emigrating or has emigrated can be called an emigrant. Less commonly, emigration can also be used to refer to emigrants collectively.What’s the difference between emigration, immigration, and migration?Migration is the act of moving from one place to another (and perhaps back and forth). Emigration is moving out, while immigration is moving in. For this reason, the word emigration is commonly followed by from and the home country, whereas immigration is commonly followed by to and the destination country.Of course, emigration and immigration are two ways to describe the same process—people who are emigrating are also immigrating (if they leave, they have to go somewhere).But there are good reasons to use each word in different situations. For example, one country may be a common destination for immigration, while another may experience frequent emigration.The words migration and immigration are more likely to be used to describe such relocation in a general way (that is, a way that takes both the starting point and the destination into account), whereas emigration is almost always about the starting point.Example: The lack of employment has caused emigration to increase significantly, with many highly skilled workers leaving the country.
Other Word Forms
- emigrational adjective
- nonemigration noun
- reemigration noun
Etymology
Origin of emigration
1640–50; < Late Latin ēmīgrātiōn- (stem of ēmīgrātiō ) removal. See emigrate, -ion
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.
Many, ultimately, resorted to emigration to Spanish-speaking countries like Spain or Mexico and wherever possible, Cargill found positions to accommodate them.
From MarketWatch
Venezuela’s oil sector has suffered a severe loss of skilled workers after years of layoffs, wage erosion, and mass emigration.
From Barron's
"Interestingly, instead of the traditional 'Bank of Mum and Dad' helping with a first home deposit, families are now supporting children with the costs of emigration and settling abroad."
From BBC
The program has gained particular resonance in Russia, which faces a persistent demographic crisis compounded by emigration and the war.
Her loss was especially troubling, Cappello explains, because it "underscored the ongoing risks these birds face," and because emigration is a difficult aspect of population dynamics to measure.
From Science Daily
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.