migrant

American  

[mahy-gruhnt] / ˈmaɪ grənt /

adjective

1. migrating, especially of people; migratory.

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noun

1. a person or animal that migrates.

2. a person who attempts to permanently relocate to a new country, but who may be subject to removal by the government of that country: unaccompanied child migrants.

   undocumented migrants;

   unaccompanied child migrants.

3. Also called migrant worker.  a person who moves from place to place to get work, especially a farm laborer who harvests crops seasonally.

migrant British  

/ ˈmaɪɡrənt /

noun

1. a person or animal that moves from one region, place, or country to another

2. an itinerant agricultural worker who travels from one district to another

3. 1. an immigrant, esp a recent one

   2. ( as modifier )

      a migrant hostel

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adjective

1. moving from one region, place, or country to another; migratory

Other Word Forms

• nonmigrant
  adjective
• unmigrant
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of migrant

1665–75; < Latin migrant- (stem of migrāns ), present participle of migrāre. See migrate, -ant

Explanation

A migrant worker is someone who travels for a job––in the U.S., many farm workers migrate from Mexico every year to work on the harvest and then return home when their jobs are over. If you have traveled into a new country, you are said to have immigrated there, and you are an immigrant. An emigrant is someone who has left. Migrant doesn't refer to whether you are coming in or out––often it means someone who often travels back and forth, like migrant birds who migrate south every winter, year after year.

Example Sentences

If a migrant family worries that a medical shock, a job loss, or school fees could blow up their finances, the rational response is to bank cash.

From Barron's • Apr. 27, 2026

Mexican officialdom is well aware that the Mexican economy is kept afloat by a combination of migrant remittances and North American market access.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

In total, he lived around 16 years as an undocumented migrant in the US.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Director of Pendine Park, Mario Kreft, said the sector would be "lost" without migrant workers.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

For the physical I was herded into a large room along with thirty or so black men, mostly migrant workers.

From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane

Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler