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

Lawmakers were denied entry when they tried to perform their mandated oversight duties at immigrant detention facilities.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

But the fact is that he’s an immigrant — an immigrant who has legal status in the county but an immigrant regardless.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

The injured civilian was an immigrant who had a hearing in the building, according to Barnacle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

The chapters follow the restaurant’s improbable success, offering extraordinary anecdotes, such as how a Yugoslavian immigrant happened to open a red-booth, comfort-food Italian restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

Tony noticed that Mexicans, who make up the fastest growing immigrant population, have been far less successful at moving up from the bottom than many earlier immigrant waves.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

“People are talking about the future of day laborers, the future of immigrants, and immigrants are not in the discussion,” Alvarado said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

Following criticism last June, the Dodgers barred federal immigration agents from the team's massive stadium parking lot and committed $1 million to help families of immigrants "impacted by recent events in the region."

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

A son of Moroccan immigrants, Mr. Eisenkot rose through stellar performance at every level to become chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

At the time, Starmer argued that mandatory digital ID for workers would make it easier to clamp down on immigrants working illegally and modernise the state.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

That was interesting, since most of the people who had lived in Manifest years before were immigrants who had come to this country on ships.

From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool