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

A man has been charged after a protest over migrant arrivals in a Hampshire town.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Without direct access to the small circle of migrant potters who knew these methods, Tampa Bay residents would have had little opportunity to learn them.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

They’re saving because a hospital bill could wipe them out, rural pensions are a pittance and migrant workers in cities still can’t access urban social-safety nets.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

"We have no idea how his life will be back in Myanmar," said the 25-year-old sister of one migrant, who told his family he expected to be sent aboard the ships.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

Hours later, the Red Cross asked Cancino if he could help an injured migrant.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

"Some are homeless, some are very poor, there are migrants," Danso said, while others are undocumented and face orders to leave France.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

At least 139 migrants died, including 15 children, and 84 went missing when an overcrowded boat sank while heading from Djibouti to Yemen, a UN agency said Sunday.

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

In Senegal, fishmeal has put local fishers out of work, so they increasingly are selling — or repurposing — their boats to ferry migrants to Spain’s Canary Islands, a stepping stone to Europe.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

The protests forced tens of thousands of migrants to flee, with some returning home through repatriation programmes organised by their governments.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

The MS control the tops of freight trains operating north of the Rio Suchiate, where many migrants going to the United States begin their trek through Mexico.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

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Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler

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