immigrate

[im-i-greyt]

verb (used without object)

immigrated, immigrating 

1. to come to a country of which one is not a native, usually for permanent residence.

2. to pass or come into a new habitat or place, as an organism.

verb (used with object)

immigrated, immigrating 

1. to introduce as settlers.

   to immigrate cheap labor.

immigrate

/ ˈɪmɪˌɡreɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to come to a place or country of which one is not a native in order to settle there Compare emigrate

2. (intr) (of an animal or plant) to migrate to a new geographical area

3. (tr) to introduce or bring in as an immigrant

Other Word Forms

• immigrator noun
• immigratory adjective
• unimmigrating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of immigrate¹

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin immigrātus (past participle of immigrāre “to move into”); im- ¹, migrate

Word History and Origins

Origin of immigrate¹

C17: from Latin immigrāre to go into, from _im- + migrāre to move

Synonym Study

See migrate.

Example Sentences

He said the site employed a large contingent of workers who’d recently immigrated from Latin America, including many who lacked proper documentation.

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The Indian businessman immigrated from Malaysia in the 1980s to attend a small college in Ohio.

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Born in Taiwan to a mathematician father and accountant mother, Su, 55 years old, immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1970s, when she was 3 years old.

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Betancur, whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from South America when he was a toddler, was the first in his family to attend college.

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After immigrating to Australia from the Basque Country, a region that straddles the border between France and Spain, the working-class house painter took roughly 13 years to build the family’s home.

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Related Words

• arrive 
• migrate