immigrant

American  

[im-i-gruhnt] / ˈɪm ɪ grənt /

noun

1. a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.

2. an organism found in a new habitat.

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adjective

1. of or relating to immigrants and immigration.

   a department for immigrant affairs.

2. immigrating.

immigrant British  

/ ˈɪmɪɡrənt /

noun

1. 1. a person who comes to a country in order to settle there Compare emigrant

   2. ( as modifier )

      an immigrant community

2. an animal or plant that lives or grows in a region to which it has recently migrated

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Other Word Forms

• nonimmigrant
  noun

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.

Example Sentences

Eighteen people have died so far this year in immigrant detention facilities, leaving 2026 on track to be the agency’s deadliest year in more than two decades.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026

When butcher Asser Levy died in Colonial New York, he had gone from penniless immigrant to successful businessperson by meeting the booming city’s food needs.

From MarketWatch • May 6, 2026

“That song tells the immigrant story,” Diamond said in 2006.

From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026

Jarmulowsky Bank was one of many immigrant banks that failed, finally closing in 1917, due to runs on deposits they no longer held.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

Whether you’re called an emigrant or an immigrant depends on whether you’re going or coming, and on the point of view of the speaker.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner