migrate

[mahy-greyt]

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verb (used without object), mi·grat·ed, mi·grat·ing.

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

to pass periodically from one region or climate to another, as certain birds, fishes, and animals: The birds migrate southward in the winter.

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

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

Chemistry.

(of ions) to move toward an electrode during electrolysis.
(of atoms within a molecule) to change position.

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

Origin of migrate

1690–1700; < 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

Related formsmi·gra·tor, nounin·ter·mi·grate, verb (used without object), in·ter·mi·grat·ed, in·ter·mi·grat·ing.non·mi·grat·ing, adjective, nounre·mi·grate, verb (used without object), re·mi·grat·ed, re·mi·grat·ing.un·mi·grat·ing, adjective

Can be confusedemigrate immigrate migrate (see synonym study at the current entry)

Synonym study

1. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for migrated

trek, shift, drift, roam, immigrate, emigrate, wander, voyage, transmigrate, leave, range, journey, rove, nomadize

Examples from the Web for migrated

Contemporary Examples of migrated

There were also the fleshy remains of the seniors who migrated to Florida from all points north.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’
Asawin Suebsaeng
January 7, 2015
The increasingly vicious debate has since migrated into newspaper columns and TV.
Do They Know It’s Time to Stop Band Aid?
Tom Sykes
November 22, 2014
Some, like Pete, who McKell has become quite close with, have migrated to and from other types of nomadic communities.
London’s Pagan Counterculture Kings
Justin Jones
October 12, 2014
Those who migrated to Asia were also indulging in art at the same time, possibly earlier.
The Oldest Cave Art May Not Be in Europe
Justin Jones
October 9, 2014
The Jews who migrated to the United States have assimilated into its society, as have their creations.
Superman Is Jewish: The Hebrew Roots of America's Greatest Superhero
Rich Goldstein
August 16, 2014

Historical Examples of migrated

We found both at Stocks, whither we migrated in the summer of 1892.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume II
Mrs. Humphry Ward
Betty married, and migrated to a new home in another part of the State.
Beauty and The Beast, and Tales From Home
Bayard Taylor
We migrated to Mayberry the following Monday, as we had agreed to do.
Kent Knowles: Quahaug
Joseph C. Lincoln
They migrated at first as lowest-class passengers on the commercial lines.
Cubs of the Wolf
Raymond F. Jones
Colonists might have migrated from another Terran-occupied planet.
Control Group
Roger Dee

British Dictionary definitions for migrated

migrate

verb (intr)

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

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

Derived Formsmigrator, noun

Word Origin for migrate

C17: from Latin migrāre to change one's abode

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for migrated

migrate

1690s, from Latin migratus, past participle of migrare "to move from one place to another" (see migration). Related: Migrated; migrating.