immigrant

American  

[im-i-gruhnt] / ˈɪm ɪ grənt /

noun

• immigrants
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• nonimmigrant
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• immigrants
  plural

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

See Examples For:

immigrant immigrants

Another protester, a 32-year-old Kosovar immigrant who gave his name as Kobe, said his own experience of war made him want to "stand up today and not let history repeat" itself.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

Debs was born in 1855 in Terre Haute, Ind., to French immigrant parents who read to him from Victor Hugo and cherished the ideals of the French Revolution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

It’s a story I’ve repeatedly told over my decades-long journalism career, and no one has yet challenged my description of my grandmother as an immigrant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Becerra’s mother is from Guadalajara, Mexico, but his father was born in Sacramento and raised in Tijuana — making him a U.S. citizen and not a legal immigrant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

“When the sisters ran an orphanage here, some children would sing themselves to sleep, often in their native language, as many were immigrant children.”

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool

A group of previously detained immigrants has filed a lawsuit against U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

An average of 1,686 immigrants were detained at the center daily as of July, according to TRAC.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026

An AFP journalist saw hundreds of protesters stretching several blocks in Manhattan on Friday chanting "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here" and "No ICE."

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

The son of Greek immigrants who settled in Bristol, Conn., “Kosta,” as he is known, became a lawyer and was elected in 1992 as a Democrat to represent Bristol in the statehouse.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

They grew up around the noise of new construction and immigrants arriving from across the world.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock