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

Moroccan security forces displayed "total permissiveness" during the unprecedented migrant rush into Spain's north African territory of Ceuta in July, according to a Spanish police report seen by AFP on Wednesday.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

She told El País newspaper migrant girls were "particularly vulnerable because of their irregular status in the territory".

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

In 2012, Zheng'an local authorities rolled out an initiative called "return the phoenix to the nest", to encourage skilled migrant workers to return home and start businesses.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a 24-year-old migrant from Venezuela, was shot in the leg but survived.

From Slate ● Aug. 28, 2026

The goods— belonging to migrant workers living alone in the city—were being sent to wives back in the tribal reserve.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Hampshire Police urged people to avoid the Eastney Landing ferry port area, where the migrants were brought ashore, and said a dispersal order was in place, meaning anyone failing to comply could be arrested.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

"We are talking about opportunities for a new chance for irregular migrants which cannot return to their home country today, and that have no legal grounds to be in our countries," he said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026

Challenged during a news conference over whether the wording "ordinarily" meant some migrants would not be accepted by France, Farage said it was "legalese".

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

Coast Guard says it rescued 37 migrants aboard a boat last week after it drifted for days without food or water near Oxnard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Many migrants who lose limbs to the train end up back in Tapachula, a dozen blocks from the depot where they first boarded the train, at the Shelter of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler