migrate

[mahy-greyt]

verb (used without object)

migrated, migrating 

1. to go from one country, region, or place to another.

   Synonyms: relocate, move
   Antonyms: stay, remain

2. to pass periodically from one region or climate to another, as certain birds, fishes, and animals.

   The birds migrate southward in the winter.

3. to shift, as from one system, mode of operation, or enterprise to another.

4. Physiology.,  (of a cell, tissue, etc.) to move from one region of the body to another, as in embryonic development.

5. Chemistry.

   1. (of ions) to move toward an electrode during electrolysis.

   2. (of atoms within a molecule) to change position.

6. (at British universities) to change or transfer from one college to another.

migrate

/ maɪˈɡreɪt /

verb

1. to go from one region, country, or place of abode to settle in another, esp in a foreign country

2. (of birds, fishes, etc) to journey between different areas at specific times of the year

Other Word Forms

• migrator noun
• intermigrate verb (used without object)
• nonmigrating adjective
• remigrate verb (used without object)
• unmigrating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of migrate¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin migrātus (past participle of migrāre “to move from place to place, change position or abode”), equivalent to migrā- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of migrate¹

C17: from Latin migrāre to change one's abode

Synonym Study

Migrate, emigrate, immigrate are used of changing one's abode from one country or part of a country to another. To migrate is to make such a move either once or repeatedly: to migrate from Ireland to the United States. To emigrate is to leave a country, usually one's own (and take up residence in another): Each year many people emigrate from Europe. To immigrate is to enter and settle in a country not one's own: There are many inducements to immigrate to South America. Migrate is applied both to people or to animals that move from one region to another, especially periodically; the other terms are generally applied to movements of people.

Example Sentences

With the likes of Amazon and Microsoft already embedded in many different aspects of digital operations, companies looking to migrate elsewhere or diversify may face challenges, said Stephen Kelly of Circata.

Read more on BBC

So many East Coast services were affected that customers who wanted to simply pull up and move their computing operations to another part of Amazon’s cloud found themselves unable to migrate.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The communities on either side are often from the same ethnic groups and intermingle, and herds of cattle migrate across the vast savannah.

Read more on Barron's

The small town in the centre of the west African country is well known as a transit point for Ivorians looking to migrate.

Read more on Barron's

The cells that form the oral region are spread farther afield, making it plausible that at some point, a clump of tooth-forming cells might have migrated onto the head and stuck.

Read more on Science Daily

Related Words

• drift 
• emigrate 
• immigrate 
• roam 
• shift 
• trek 
• wander