migrate

[ mahy-greyt ]

verb (used without object)

, mi·grat·ed, mi·grat·ing.

1. to go from one country, region, or place to another.

   Synonyms: relocate, move

   Antonyms: stay, remain

2. to pass periodically from one region or climate to another, as certain birds, fishes, and animals:

   The birds migrate southward in the winter.

3. to shift, as from one system, mode of operation, or enterprise to another.
4. Physiology. (of a cell, tissue, etc.) to move from one region of the body to another, as in embryonic development.
5. Chemistry.
   1. (of ions) to move toward an electrode during electrolysis.
   2. (of atoms within a molecule) to change position.
6. (at British universities) to change or transfer from one college to another.

migrate

/ maɪˈɡreɪt /

verb

1. to go from one region, country, or place of abode to settle in another, esp in a foreign country
2. (of birds, fishes, etc) to journey between different areas at specific times of the year

Derived Forms

• miˈgrator, noun

Other Words From

• migra·tor noun
• inter·migrate verb (used without object) intermigrated intermigrating
• non·migrat·ing adjective noun
• re·migrate verb (used without object) remigrated remigrating
• un·migrat·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of migrate¹

First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin migrātus (past participle of migrāre “to move from place to place, change position or abode”), equivalent to migrā- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of migrate¹

C17: from Latin migrāre to change one's abode

Synonym Study

Migrate, emigrate, immigrate are used of changing one's abode from one country or part of a country to another. To migrate is to make such a move either once or repeatedly: to migrate from Ireland to the United States. To emigrate is to leave a country, usually one's own (and take up residence in another): Each year many people emigrate from Europe. To immigrate is to enter and settle in a country not one's own: There are many inducements to immigrate to South America. Migrate is applied both to people or to animals that move from one region to another, especially periodically; the other terms are generally applied to movements of people.

Example Sentences

It’s the fact that people have migrated to very few platforms because it makes sense to go where your friends and family are.

From ProPublica

As rock, pop, country and other formats migrated to FM, AM stations faced an existential crisis.

From Washington Post

Two generations after Van Gogh heralded the South’s clear light and brilliant colors, artists began to migrate after World War I to the “perched villages” of the Riviera’s hills above Nice.

From Washington Post

Kling was 17 when she moved to Maryland, the first in her family to migrate to the United States.

From Washington Post

Because the change is happening to both match types, there’s no need to migrate keywords and advertisers will get to keep their performance data.

From Search Engine Land

While politics tend to migrate toward the poles, humanity—and fiction, at its best—huddles in between.

From The Daily Beast

These agricultural pests migrate in mid-summer to the Rocky Mountains from Kansas and Nebraska to beat the heat.

From The Daily Beast

Some, like the Ait Atta nomads, still migrate throughout the year.

From The Daily Beast

Some species of animals and plants would migrate to different zones or disappear for ever.

From The Daily Beast

Is it worth it to migrate to Las Vegas, which is said to be welcoming with open arms?

From The Daily Beast

They are able to migrate readily from place to place and to ingest small bodies, as bacteria.

From Project Gutenberg

These migrate to the salivary glands, and are carried into the blood of the person whom the mosquito bites.

From Project Gutenberg

The Baz men are hereditary builders, and migrate in a body to Mosul in winter in order to undertake such work.

From Project Gutenberg

Even in your day the more intelligent among the agricultural labourers were beginning to migrate to the towns.

From Project Gutenberg

They migrate from place to place, as the season varies, plant very little, and are addicted to the use of ardent spirits.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• drift
• emigrate
• immigrate
• roam
• shift
• trek
• wander