immigrate

American  

[im-i-greyt] / ˈɪm ɪˌgreɪt /

verb (used without object)

• immigrates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• immigrated,
  past participle,  past
• immigrating
  present participle

1. to come to a country of which one is not a native, usually for permanent residence.

2. to pass or come into a new habitat or place, as an organism.

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verb (used with object)

• immigrates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• immigrated,
  past participle,  past
• immigrating
  present participle

1. to introduce as settlers.

   to immigrate cheap labor.

immigrate British  

/ ˈɪmɪˌɡreɪt /

verb

1. (intr) to come to a place or country of which one is not a native in order to settle there Compare emigrate

2. (intr) (of an animal or plant) to migrate to a new geographical area

3. (tr) to introduce or bring in as an immigrant

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Synonym Usage

See migrate.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• immigrator
  noun
• immigratory
  adjective
• unimmigrating
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• immigrating
  present
• immigrated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• immigrate
  simple
• immigrates
  simple
• have immigrated
  perfect
• has immigrated
  perfect
• am immigrating
  progressive
• are immigrating
  progressive
• is immigrating
  progressive
• have been immigrating
  perfect progressive
• has been immigrating
  perfect progressive

Past

• immigrated
  simple
• had immigrated
  perfect
• was immigrating
  progressive
• were immigrating
  progressive
• had been immigrating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will immigrate
  simple
• will have immigrated
  perfect
• will be immigrating
  progressive
• will have been immigrating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of immigrate

First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin immigrātus (past participle of immigrāre “to move into”); see im- ¹, migrate

Explanation

When a person immigrates, he or she moves to a new country. During the great wave of immigration between 1880 and 1924, over 25 million Europeans immigrated to the United States. Many immigrants make significant contributions to their adopted countries. Consider Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist of the twentieth century, who immigrated to America from Germany, or the Russian-born New Yorker Irving Berlin, who wrote some of the most popular songs in the American songbook, including “White Christmas” and “God Bless America." The word immigrate comes from the Latin imigrare, which means “to move in.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

immigrate immigrates immigrated immigrating

Back in Maine, Abdi said his brother Hassan, who couldn't immigrate to the US because of visa restrictions, instead recently became a citizen of Canada.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

All of the Afghans airlifted by the U.S. to Camp As Sayliyah underwent initial security screenings and background checks for preapproval to immigrate to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026

But lawyers told Barron’s that most of their wealthy foreign clients who want to immigrate aren’t applying for the Gold Card—they’re pursuing other options.

From Barron's ● Mar. 6, 2026

“I couldn’t have sold that 1st taco if my parents didn’t make the difficult decision to leave their homeland for a better life & immigrate to the U.S.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 9, 2026

I never felt like the camp was home, but I began to get used to the life there as we waited to see which country might allow us to immigrate.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

A Central or South American who immigrates to the U.S. could see their greenhouse gas emissions double or triple, just by becoming part of the U.S. economy.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 25, 2023

Her 2013 debut novel, “We Need New Names,” was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for its indelible tale of a Zimbabwean girl who immigrates to the United States.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 6, 2022

Beauty and the Beast is about an Asian family that immigrates to France and they're trying to make a business, even though there's quite a bit of racism against them there.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2021

Her history is a hard one — she immigrates to New York from rural China penniless and pregnant, then works her way up to a job at an exploitative nail salon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2017

A person emigrates from the land he leaves, and immigrates to the land where he takes up his abode.

From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by James Champlin Fernald

One academic who immigrated to the United States said junk mail from the retailer helped convince her that she’d really become an American.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

“They immigrated here from Hong Kong in 1969 with one dream: to become business owners and to live that American dream and have a good life for their two kids. And they accomplished that tenfold.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

By 2024, some 40% of residents aged 15 to 24 were either migrants or had parents who immigrated to Germany, according to government data—for those under 15, the proportion was 43%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026

Henry Roth was born in a Galician shtetl in what is now Ukraine, and immigrated to the U.S. as an infant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Her grandma immigrated to Britain in the 1950s, and she says that being uprooted and starting again was something that she never got over.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

It was trying to unravel years of sacrifice that the couple had made since immigrating to the United States from El Salvador.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026

Yong-ho Kim started working in Radio Korea’s advertising department a month after immigrating to the United States in February 1990, two years before the unrest.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

After immigrating to America, my dad was so grateful to be American he enlisted in the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

He spent time in the Middle East when his father was ambassador to Syria and Lebanon before immigrating to the San Francisco Bay Area with his family as a teenager.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025

Coach Korfanty had had an illustrious fencing career in his native Poland before immigrating to the United States and starting a career in coaching in Portland, Oregon.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

Related Words

• arrive
• migrate