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

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Etymology

Origin of migrant

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

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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

He continued to face criticism for the disappearance of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who were supposed to be monitored by the agency’s Office of Refugee Resettlement after entering the country.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has set aside the death sentence handed to a Sri Lankan migrant worker over a comment he made on Facebook, Colombo's Deputy Foreign Minister Arun Hemachandra said.

From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026

Police on Sunday cleared the last major migrant encampment in Ceuta, two days before a visit by Spain's king and queen, AFP reporters at the scene and the interior ministry said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

Without direct access to the small circle of migrant potters who knew these methods, Tampa Bay residents would have had little opportunity to learn them.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

For migrant children, there are few options: shining shoes, selling gum or candy on the sidewalk, or washing cars.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

But the organization, like many similarly focused humanitarian groups, is fighting for its survival amid a global backlash against refugees and migrants.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Some migrants fled into nearby hills to avoid being put on buses.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

The UN agency is working in "close collaboration" with local authorities to help migrants and "prevent deaths at sea and on land", it added.

From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026

The violence comes amid growing anger over a court ruling requiring the government to remove barriers that had prevented some migrants from applying for asylum.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Social groups for women encouraged lively exchange between old settlers and migrants, creating a willing audience for modeling proper behavior.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

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Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler

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