migrant

American  

[mahy-gruhnt] / ˈmaɪ grənt /

adjective

1. migrating, especially of people; migratory.

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noun

• migrants
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• nonmigrant
  adjective
• unmigrant
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• migrants
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of migrant

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

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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

See Examples For:

migrant migrants

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood's revision of settlement plans for migrant care workers features prominently in Tuesday's papers.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

Mahmood has faced opposition from within the government for proposing to impose new rules on migrant workers already in the UK.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

He continued to face criticism for the disappearance of thousands of unaccompanied migrant children who were supposed to be monitored by the agency’s Office of Refugee Resettlement after entering the country.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

The IOM said it was assisting 64 survivors at a migrant centre in Obock.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

A migrant, moving from car to car, can inadvertently step on the pressurized brake line that runs the length of the train.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

However, there have been a small number of cases in recent years where smugglers have been caught trying to use yachts to smuggle migrants into the UK from the Dutch coast.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

Dover MP Mike Tapp says smugglers will keep adapting after it was discovered that a boat stopped in the Channel with 38 migrants on board had launched from the Netherlands.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

To qualify for settlement, migrants will also have to meet other conditions including:

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

The city is a traditional transit point and haven for migrants, and between 2020 and 2025, it received some 25,000 foreigners.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

Many migrants have had their caps stolen, so they wrap their heads in T-shirts.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

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Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler

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