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

Example Sentences

Sergei, a Russian immigrant, and Tszman Chan, from Hong Kong had not only revived the tradition, but persuaded artists from across the world to come to the most north westerly of the Orkney islands.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

“Kim’s Convenience” may not win points for originality, but originality isn’t really the point of an immigrant family drama meant to be instantly, one might say universally, recognizable.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Hundreds of Somali immigrants would have had just two months to leave the U.S. or face deportation, but earlier this month a judge paused Noem’s action after immigrant rights advocates filed a lawsuit against DHS.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

At this year's awards, held on March 15, Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" -- a wild tale of leftist revolutionaries, white supremacists and immigrant detention centers -- was crowned as best picture.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Some of them portrayed her as a hardworking immigrant who had come in search of opportunity and had been overcome—temporarily, her supporters insisted—by the obstacles and the odds.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng