migrant

American  

[mahy-gruhnt] / ˈmaɪ grənt /

adjective

1. migrating, especially of people; migratory.

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noun

migrants plural

1. a person or animal that migrates.

2. a person who attempts to permanently relocate to a new country, but who may be subject to removal by the government of that country: unaccompanied child migrants.

   undocumented migrants;

   unaccompanied child migrants.

3. Also called migrant worker.  a person who moves from place to place to get work, especially a farm laborer who harvests crops seasonally.

migrant British  

/ ˈmaɪɡrənt /

noun

1. a person or animal that moves from one region, place, or country to another

2. an itinerant agricultural worker who travels from one district to another

3. 1. an immigrant, esp a recent one

   2. ( as modifier )

      a migrant hostel

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adjective

1. moving from one region, place, or country to another; migratory

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonmigrant
  adjective
• unmigrant
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• migrants
  plural

Etymology

Origin of migrant

1665–75; < Latin migrant- (stem of migrāns ), present participle of migrāre. See migrate, -ant

Explanation

A migrant worker is someone who travels for a job––in the U.S., many farm workers migrate from Mexico every year to work on the harvest and then return home when their jobs are over. If you have traveled into a new country, you are said to have immigrated there, and you are an immigrant. An emigrant is someone who has left. Migrant doesn't refer to whether you are coming in or out––often it means someone who often travels back and forth, like migrant birds who migrate south every winter, year after year.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

migrant migrants

But consent decrees are legally and politically complicated, and the treatment of migrant children further tangles the situation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

In her teens, Michelle Huynh, the eldest daughter of migrant parents in Australia, made a promise to her family that she would become a millionaire by the time she turned 30.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

He imagines himself as a migrant: “I lived outside of Dallas / Rundown shack of a place / I was handcuffed and arrested / It don’t make no sense.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026

But with Tajikistan being economically dependent on Moscow and hundreds of thousands of Tajik migrant workers living in Russia, practical realities limit the drive to shed Russian influence.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Long ago, Gonzalez’s neighbor heard a migrant knock at his door.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Journeys typically begin in Teknaf, where migrants are packed onto trawlers before being transferred to larger vessels at sea.

From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026

"It's a retaliation," March and March spokesperson Sandile Dube told the BBC, explaining how the movement believed he was targeted because of its campaign to get undocumented migrants to leave the country.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Cuban migrants in Curitiba recount horror stories of friends and relatives who sold their homes to reach the U.S., only to be deported and returned to the island with nothing.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The previous record for the number of migrants in one vessel was 125.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

In 1999, she opened a shelter for injured migrants in a tiny former tortilla factory someone lent her.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler