immigrant

[im-i-gruh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR immigrant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

an organism found in a new habitat.

adjective

of or relating to immigrants and immigration: a department for immigrant affairs.

immigrating.

Origin of immigrant

1780–90, Americanism; < Latin immigrant- (stem of immigrāns), present participle of immigrāre to move into. See im-¹, migrant

Related formsnon·im·mi·grant, noun, adjective

Can be confusedemigrant immigrant migrant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for immigrants

alien, newcomer, settler, foreigner, migrant, pioneer, colonist, outsider, incomer

Examples from the Web for immigrants

Contemporary Examples of immigrants

Opponents of Muslims and immigrants across the continent are claiming vindication in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attack.
Europe’s Islam Haters Say We Told You So
Barbie Latza Nadeau
January 8, 2015
Then came Bess Myerson, a daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants who was raised in the Sholem Aleichem Houses in the Bronx.
Why Was Bess Myerson the First and Last Jewish Miss America?
Emily Shire
January 7, 2015
No one who lives in an American city requires a flashlight to detect the presence of immigrants or the challenges they face daily.
The 2014 Novel of the Year
Nathaniel Rich
December 29, 2014
In particular, it applies to immigrants who lost their U.S. citizenship after their involvement in World War II was discovered.
Nazis, Sunscreen, and Sea Gull Eggs: Congress in 2014 Was Hella Productive
Ben Jacobs
December 29, 2014
Christian is the son of Mexican immigrants whose father works at a car wash and mother works at McDonalds.
Forget the Kids Who Can’t Get In; What About Those Who Don’t Even Apply?
Jonah Edelman
December 9, 2014

Historical Examples of immigrants

These immigrants all gladly and eagerly adapt themselves to their new surroundings.
Freeland
Theodor Hertzka
Of course, very few of the other immigrants get such a wage as that.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)
William Delisle Hay
New York assimilates its immigrants with surprising rapidity.
The Vagrant Duke
George Gibbs
Among these immigrants the Anglo-Saxon element is now very small.
The Task of Social Hygiene
Havelock Ellis
The Indian immigrants, now reckoned at 50,000, are of two classes.
Impressions of South Africa
James Bryce

British Dictionary definitions for immigrants

immigrant

noun

a person who comes to a country in order to settle thereCompare emigrant
(as modifier)an immigrant community

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for immigrants

immigrant

"one who immigrates," 1792, in an American context, from French immigrant, from Latin immigrantem (nominative immigrans), present participle of immigrare (see immigrate). Emigrant is older. As an adjective from 1805.