immigrate

American  

[im-i-greyt] / ˈɪm ɪˌgreɪt /

verb (used without object)

• immigrates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• immigrated,
  past participle,  past
• immigrating
  present participle

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.

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verb (used with object)

• immigrates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• immigrated,
  past participle,  past
• immigrating
  present participle

1. to introduce as settlers.

   to immigrate cheap labor.

immigrate British  

/ 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

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Synonym Usage

See migrate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• immigrator
  noun
• immigratory
  adjective
• unimmigrating
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• immigrating
  present
• immigrated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• immigrate
  simple
• immigrates
  simple
• have immigrated
  perfect
• has immigrated
  perfect
• am immigrating
  progressive
• are immigrating
  progressive
• is immigrating
  progressive
• have been immigrating
  perfect progressive
• has been immigrating
  perfect progressive

Past

• immigrated
  simple
• had immigrated
  perfect
• was immigrating
  progressive
• were immigrating
  progressive
• had been immigrating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will immigrate
  simple
• will have immigrated
  perfect
• will be immigrating
  progressive
• will have been immigrating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of immigrate

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

Explanation

When a person immigrates, he or she moves to a new country. During the great wave of immigration between 1880 and 1924, over 25 million Europeans immigrated to the United States. Many immigrants make significant contributions to their adopted countries. Consider Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist of the twentieth century, who immigrated to America from Germany, or the Russian-born New Yorker Irving Berlin, who wrote some of the most popular songs in the American songbook, including “White Christmas” and “God Bless America." The word immigrate comes from the Latin imigrare, which means “to move in.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

immigrate immigrates immigrated immigrating

Back in Maine, Abdi said his brother Hassan, who couldn't immigrate to the US because of visa restrictions, instead recently became a citizen of Canada.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

The SVP has brushed aside such concerns, pointing out that its proposal includes quotas allowing for around 40,000 people to immigrate to the country each year.

From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026

The pause takes effect starting Jan. 21, and will halt visa issuance to people looking to immigrate permanently, typically through marriage, family ties or work sponsorship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 2026

“But if I’m a family of four and I want to immigrate to the U.S., that’s $4 million, so that gets a little pricey,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 7, 2025

At the time, Congress was about to pass a new immigration act that made it easy for so-called Nordic people to immigrate to the United States.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

A Central or South American who immigrates to the U.S. could see their greenhouse gas emissions double or triple, just by becoming part of the U.S. economy.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 25, 2023

After 11-year-old Nora immigrates from Korea to Canada, Hae-sung finds her on Facebook 12 years later.

From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2023

Now, the likelihood of a child or teenager who immigrates to the United States “seeing themselves on the page is higher because of my work than it was for me,” he said.

From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2022

Khalifa, who immigrates to Mombasa, Kenya, promises Ilyas he will care for Afiya.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2022

A person emigrates from the land he leaves, and immigrates to the land where he takes up his abode.

From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by James Champlin Fernald

One academic who immigrated to the United States said junk mail from the retailer helped convince her that she’d really become an American.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

“They immigrated here from Hong Kong in 1969 with one dream: to become business owners and to live that American dream and have a good life for their two kids. And they accomplished that tenfold.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Lee’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Korea before he and his siblings were born, and later opened a restaurant in hopes of establishing a better life for the family.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

My parents had immigrated from England to Perth, Australia, in 1977 when I was 6 months old.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

Anyone whose family immigrated in the last century has a story to tell about how hard their relatives have worked, the contributions they make to the country, the taxes they pay.

From "Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson

Al Lenza’s parents traveled overseas three times after immigrating to the U.S. in 1961.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Yong-ho Kim started working in Radio Korea’s advertising department a month after immigrating to the United States in February 1990, two years before the unrest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

Yet, in the late 19th century, the number of Catholics immigrating to the U.S. surged.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

After immigrating to America, my dad was so grateful to be American he enlisted in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

We are a family—not perfect, not all the same, some rich, some poor, all kinds of religions and skin colors, some born in America and some immigrating here.

From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Related Words

• arrive
• migrate