migratory

[ mahy-gruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

/ ˈmaɪ grəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR migratory ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

migrating.

periodically migrating: a migratory species; migratory workers.

pertaining to a migration:migratory movements of birds.

roving; nomadic; wandering.

Nearby words

Sometimes mi·gra·tive.

Origin of migratory

First recorded in 1745–55; migrate + -ory¹

Related formsnon·mi·gra·to·ry, adjectivepre·mi·gra·to·ry, adjectiveun·mi·gra·tive, adjectiveun·mi·gra·to·ry, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for migratory

Mayor Gardner noted that a lake that had served as a summer breeding ground for migratory cranes recently disappeared.
Visiting the Arctic Circle…Before It’s Irreversibly Changed|Terry Greene Sterling|April 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Demographic experts say Philadelphia is in the crosshairs of several unfortunate trends, both economic and migratory.
Is Philadelphia in Decline? New Report Shows a City With Marked Challenges|Daniel Stone|April 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
It has been suggested that migratory birds may have come into play in such cases.
Mimicry in Butterflies|Reginald Crundall Punnett
All the species of birds of prey cited above as migratory begin to arrive in the plains of India in September.
A Bird Calendar for Northern India|Douglas Dewar

It is not migratory but is more or less of an irregular wanderer in search of food during the autumn and winter.
Birds Illustrated by Color Photography [February, 1898]|Various
Soon after the arrival of the migratory birds the wilderness becomes newly clothed in green and gray.
The Ontario Readers|Ontario Ministry of Education
Their most marked peculiarity is the migratory nature of their lives.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology|Robert E. Park

British Dictionary definitions for migratory

migratory

/ (ˈmaɪɡrətərɪ, -trɪ) /

adjective

of, relating to, or characterized by migration

nomadic; itinerant

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