immigration
Americannoun
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the movement of non-native people into a country in order to settle there
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the part of a port, airport, etc where government employees examine the passports, visas, etc of foreign nationals entering the country
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonimmigrationnoun
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preimmigrationnoun
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anti-immigrationadjective
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immigrationaladjective
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immigratoryadjective
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proimmigrationadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of immigration
Explanation
Immigration is the process of moving to a new country to stay. New York's Ellis Island was considered a gateway for European immigration to the United States during the early 1900's. Nowadays, people immigrate through airports instead of islands. The word migration is in immigration, which is something we think of birds doing when they fly South for the winter. It's not an accident — if American birds had little passports, they'd have to go through immigration when they got to Mexico. When humans immigrate, they have to follow the rules of the new country or else they risk getting in trouble. Immigration is the act of going to a new country, while emigration refers to the process of leaving one.
Vocabulary lists containing immigration
Human Geography - Middle School
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The United States
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Human Geography - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will ensure that immigration filings are decided based on the laws, regulations, and binding legal precedent that govern each case.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The same profile giving this advice had previously told my real, BBC Instagram account that "it does not encourage immigration to Ceuta" - a message several other profiles repeated.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
People who previously traveled and returned to the U.S. won’t be affected and could still adjust their immigration status.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
Britain was coming off a record-breaking surge in legal and illegal immigration that had turned the issue into a major issue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
The greatest wave of immigration the world has ever known engulfed America between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
The move comes as local governments move to help immigrations caught up in the raids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2025
But now parts of Los Angeles have erupted in protests after immigrations officers intensified their raids at workplaces.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2025
Beck-Mewing said rents were rebounding after many property owners dropped rents during COVID, and will likely to continue to increase in 2023 due to increased rental demand after immigrations allowances were raised by almost one-third.
From Reuters ● Dec. 19, 2022
Mattoo said at the time that immigrations officials gave her no reason but told her she would not be able to travel internationally.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 19, 2022
In many instances, however, immigrations have taken place in large masses, who have left their old abodes to seek new homes.
From Teutonic Mythology, Vol. 1 of 3 Gods and Goddesses of the Northland by Ph.D.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
