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:
A Venezuelan citizen shot by a US immigration agent in Texas has been charged with assault and other crimes and faces up to 20 years in prison, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
Nandy said the home secretary was trying to balance respect for people "regardless of who they or where they stand" with the need for "an immigration system that people have confidence in".
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
The writer told the New York Times in an interview this spring that he was inspired to start the novel after witnessing immigration agents stopping people during a trip to Florida in 2017.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
The British-born Republican has also declined to criticize the president on issues including immigration enforcement or the Iran war.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
Obinze asked an immigration officer when she came to lead the man from Djibouti out to see a visitor.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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
These small miscellaneous immigrations were in continuance from about 1830 to 1842.
From The Columbia River Its History, Its Myths, Its Scenery, Its Commerce by William Denison Lyman
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.
