immigrant
Americannoun
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a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.
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an organism found in a new habitat.
adjective
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of or relating to immigrants and immigration.
a department for immigrant affairs.
noun
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a person who comes to a country in order to settle there Compare emigrant
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( as modifier )
an immigrant community
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an animal or plant that lives or grows in a region to which it has recently migrated
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of immigrant
An Americanism first recorded in 1780–90; from Latin immigrant-, stem of immigrāns “moving into,” present participle of immigrāre “to move into”; equivalent to im- 1 + migrant
Explanation
The United States is a country of immigrants — people who come to one country from another country, in hopes of having a better life. An inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty welcomes new immigrants: "Give me your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." Don't confuse the words immigrant and emigrant. If you come to a country, you are an immigrant and you emigrate from somewhere else. Ireland has many emigrants to America; America has many immigrants from Ireland. If your parents were immigrants to the United States, but you were born here, you are a citizen automatically.
Vocabulary lists containing immigrant
Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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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.
A legal settlement announced this week now affirms that private immigrant detention facilities are subject to California’s workplace safety and health requirements.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2026
DHS said the immigrant, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was in the country illegally and attempted to evade arrest after ICE moved to detain him at a traffic stop Tuesday morning.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
The agency said the immigrant was taken to a hospital where he died from his injuries.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 8, 2026
Multigenerational living has long been more of a norm among Hispanic, Asian and Black households, along with immigrant families.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 5, 2026
She would defy them and get a job anyway because, like me, she suffered from immigrant child guilt complex.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
