migrant
Americanadjective
noun
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migrants
plural
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a person or animal that migrates.
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a person who attempts to permanently relocate to a new country, but who may be subject to removal by the government of that country: unaccompanied child migrants.
undocumented migrants;
unaccompanied child migrants.
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Also called migrant worker. a person who moves from place to place to get work, especially a farm laborer who harvests crops seasonally.
noun
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a person or animal that moves from one region, place, or country to another
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an itinerant agricultural worker who travels from one district to another
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an immigrant, esp a recent one
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( as modifier )
a migrant hostel
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adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of migrant
1665–75; < Latin migrant- (stem of migrāns ), present participle of migrāre. See migrate, -ant
Explanation
A migrant worker is someone who travels for a job––in the U.S., many farm workers migrate from Mexico every year to work on the harvest and then return home when their jobs are over. If you have traveled into a new country, you are said to have immigrated there, and you are an immigrant. An emigrant is someone who has left. Migrant doesn't refer to whether you are coming in or out––often it means someone who often travels back and forth, like migrant birds who migrate south every winter, year after year.
Vocabulary lists containing migrant
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Mexico - Middle School
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The Great Depression and The New Deal
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Sánchez has been careful not to blame Morocco for the migrant crisis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Under plans set to be announced at a news conference later, the Royal Navy would intercept migrant boats in the Channel and return them to France or Belgium.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
The migrant incident highlights the tense relationship between Spain and Morocco, which doesn’t recognize the Spanish claim to Ceuta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
Previous migrant surges have occurred during tensions between Spain and Morocco, including in 2021 which led more than 10,000 migrants to enter Ceuta in just two days.
From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026
One migrant says, “I’ve done the most difficult part.”
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
As most migrants left a tiny Spanish territory in North Africa this weekend, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pivoted to a new crisis—one playing out in Europe’s halls of power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
It is unknown exactly what led the tens of thousands of migrants to cross from Morocco into Ceuta in a span of just a few hours last week.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Originally built around low-fee, foreign-currency transactions, Revolut is widely used by international travelers and migrants sending remittances home.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Around 72,000 migrants crossed into the Spanish territory in North Africa between 30 and 31 July, Spain's Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
She has treated more than 1,500 wounded migrants since the shelter opened.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
