migratory

American  

[mahy-gruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈmaɪ grəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

Sometimes migrative

adjective

1. migrating.

2. periodically migrating.

   a migratory species; migratory workers.

3. pertaining to a migration.

   migratory movements of birds.

4. roving; nomadic; wandering.

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migratory British  

/ ˈmaɪɡrətərɪ, -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by migration

2. nomadic; itinerant

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migratory Scientific  

/ mī′grə-tôr′ē /

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

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Other Word Forms

• nonmigratory adjective
• premigratory adjective
• unmigrative adjective
• unmigratory adjective

Etymology

Origin of migratory

First recorded in 1745–55; migrate + -ory ¹

Example Sentences

The decision came at the conclusion of the COP15 summit on migratory species in Campo Verde, Brazil, which brought together representatives from 132 countries and the European Union.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Another major UN assessment, published on Tuesday as the summit opened, warned that migratory freshwater fish populations crucial to river health and sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people are in freefall and risk collapse.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

The Amazon Basin remains one of the last major strongholds for migratory freshwater fish, but increasing development pressures are putting that status at risk.

From Science Daily • Mar. 26, 2026

As well as providing enough food for 200 million people globally, he said migratory freshwater fish have immense diversity which needs protection.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Once in those early years he’d wakened in a barren wood and lay listening to flocks of migratory birds overhead in that bitter dark.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Related Words

• seasonal
• transient