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
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.
Both are young local politicians from immigrant families.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Launching this spring, the opera is based on See’s book about her Chinese American family’s immigrant experience in California.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
To everyone else, the crowd is the point: the immigrant kid, the muddy field, the strangers who become one thing for 90 minutes.
From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026
A city council member, she is an Indian immigrant and urban planner.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
Shadow saw a gray-haired old east-European immigrant, with a shabby raincoat and one iron-colored tooth, true.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
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.
