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
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.
US pop star Ariana Grande has asked the White House not to use her music, after it did so in a social media video promoting its immigration policies.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
Disgruntled by rising living costs and disillusioned by unfulfilled economic and social promises, the Swiss are at the vanguard of industrialized countries questioning the benefits of immigration, even the high-skilled workers many vie to attract.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Any workable political settlement for Social Security will require as its inputs a relatively stable immigration policy and perhaps several years of information on how artificial intelligence will transform the economy’s productivity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
Her recent joint interview with three U.S. cardinals about Pope Leo XIV and his church’s opposition to the Iran war and Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown became a major story in April.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
Every day after Mamá bought food for us from street vendors for our meals, she and Papá went to the immigration office to check on our petition for visas.
From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez
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.
