emigrate

verb

em·​i·​grate ˈe-mə-ˌgrāt 

emigrated; emigrating

intransitive verb

: to leave one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere

emigrated from Canada to the United States

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an emigrant and an immigrant?

Immigrant and emigrant both refer to a person leaving their own country for another. However, immigrant (and its verb form immigrate) typically stresses the country someone is going to, while emigrant (and its verb emigrate) stresses the country someone is coming from. One is an immigrant to a new country, and an emigrant from an old one. See here for more on the difference between emigrant and immigrant.

Is emigrant a noun or a verb?

Emigrant is a noun, meaning "one who leaves one's place of residence or country to live elsewhere." It is synonymous with émigré, a word that is especially used of a person who has left for political reasons. The verb form of the word is emigrate.

Does emigrant imply illegality?

Both emigrant and immigrant refer to a person who has moved from one country to another, usually in permanent or semi-permanent fashion. Neither word by itself has any connotations of illegality.

Examples of emigrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Rojas and Lopez’s clients include Venezuelans who now want to cover up their tattoos before emigrating to countries such as Ecuador, Chile and the United States. —Gustavo Ocando Alex, Miami Herald, 1 May 2025

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1978, Amal and her family emigrated to the United Kingdom two years later to escape the Lebanese Civil War. —Meredith Kile, People.com, 29 Apr. 2025

The tomb was made with marble quarried from the northwest Italian region of Liguria, where the grandparents of Francis — born Jorge Mario Bergoglio — lived before emigrating to Argentina. —Willem Marx, NPR, 26 Apr. 2025

Further down the totem pole, hundreds of thousands of white-collar professionals—particularly in IT, finance, and business services—are benefiting from higher salaries as their dissident peers emigrate and their skills become scarcer. —Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin emigratus, past participle of emigrare, from e- + migrare to migrate

First Known Use

1749, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for emigrate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• adsorbate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate

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Kids Definition

emigrate

verb

em·​i·​grate ˈem-ə-ˌgrāt 

emigrated; emigrating

: to leave a country or region to live elsewhere

emigration

ˌem-ə-ˈgrā-shən 

noun