migratory

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

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.

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. 2018

Examples from the Web for migratory

Contemporary Examples

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
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

Historical Examples

As much to me as if a stray, migratory mule had rambled into the wood and found me, and I him.
Green Mansions
W. H. Hudson
Are they like the ducks, merely come, pause, and proceed on their migratory way?
The Hound From The North
Ridgwell Cullum
They know that, without the migratory worker, most of the crops wouldn't get harvested.
See?
Edward G. Robles
All dams in streams in which are migratory fish should have fish-ways or fish-ladders.
Boy Scouts Handbook
Boy Scouts of America
Encampment does not in any way distress this migratory tribe.
Artists' Wives
Alphonse Daudet

British Dictionary definitions for migratory

migratory

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

Word Origin and History for migratory

adj.

1753, from Latin migrat-, past participle stem of migrare "to movefrom one place to another" (see migration) + -ory.

migratory in Science

migratory

[mī′grə-tôr′ē]

Traveling from one place to another at regular times of year, often over long distances. Salmon, whales, and swallows are all migratory animals.

migratory

Origin of .css-1fxfie5{font-size:22px;}@media (max-width:768px){.css-1fxfie5{font-size:18px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;word-break:break-all;word-wrap:break-word;-webkit-hyphens:auto;-moz-hyphens:auto;-ms-hyphens:auto;hyphens:auto;line-height:22px;}}migratory

Examples from the Web for migratory

Contemporary Examples

Mayor Gardner noted that a lake that had served as a summer breeding ground for migratory cranes recently disappeared.

Demographic experts say Philadelphia is in the crosshairs of several unfortunate trends, both economic and migratory.

Historical Examples

As much to me as if a stray, migratory mule had rambled into the wood and found me, and I him.

Are they like the ducks, merely come, pause, and proceed on their migratory way?

They know that, without the migratory worker, most of the crops wouldn't get harvested.

All dams in streams in which are migratory fish should have fish-ways or fish-ladders.

Encampment does not in any way distress this migratory tribe.

migratory

Word Origin and History for migratory

adj.

migratory

Origin of migratory