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

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

See Examples For:

migrant migrants

But it also raised new questions about whether the administration would ensure legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

"We want to reach Europe and fulfil our dreams and those of our families," Ahmad, a migrant from Yemen, told AFPTV.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

The leader of Spain's north African territory of Ceuta on Wednesday said the number of children left there after last week's irregular migrant rush was "unsustainable", pleading for government aid.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Under plans set to be announced at a news conference later, the Royal Navy would intercept migrant boats in the Channel and return them to France or Belgium.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

One migrant says, “I’ve done the most difficult part.”

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

Most of the migrants returned to Morocco but between 3,000 and 5,000 remain in the territory, the exclave's leader Juan Jesús Vivas said.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Madrid dismissed this position, saying it was based on "spurious arguments" that lacked any basis in fact because the migrants who entered Ceuta had no way of entering the Schengen area.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Spain's government said Wednesday that around 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who entered Ceuta from Morocco on July 30 and 31 had since returned, leaving about 2,000 behind.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

At least 78 people died on the Spanish side of the frontier during the main rush as migrants swam into Ceuta, according to Spain's government.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

In 1917, Charles S. Johnson, a black sociologist and later the first black president of Fisk University, captured some of their stories in interviews with Mississippi migrants about their move to Chicago.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler