migrant
Americanadjective
noun
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a person or animal that migrates.
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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.
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Also called migrant worker. a person who moves from place to place to get work, especially a farm laborer who harvests crops seasonally.
noun
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a person or animal that moves from one region, place, or country to another
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an itinerant agricultural worker who travels from one district to another
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an immigrant, esp a recent one
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( as modifier )
a migrant hostel
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adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing migrant
Mexico - Introductory
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Mexico - Middle School
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The Great Depression and The New Deal
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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.
Searching for their missing migrant children, a caravan of Central American mothers traverses Mexico with tireless, even superhuman determination.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2026
The US state of New Jersey on Tuesday sued the private prison company that runs a migrant detention center where protesters have rallied for several days over allegedly poor conditions at the jail.
From Barron's • Jun. 2, 2026
The rush underscores growing anxiety among migrant communities -- many of whom lack proper documentation -- with rights groups warning of forced expulsions and limited legal protections.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
Much of Delhi's informal migrant workforce lives in densely-packed settlements with unreliable electricity, poor ventilation and no air-conditioning.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
As migrant Jose Rodas Orellana readies to board a train in Veracruz, a man emerges from his house.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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.
