immigrate

verb

im·​mi·​grate ˈi-mə-ˌgrāt 

immigrated; immigrating

intransitive verb

: to enter and usually become established

especially : to come into a country of which one is not a native for permanent residence

transitive verb

: to bring in or send as immigrants

Examples of immigrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

José, who immigrated to the United States from Guanajuato, Mexico, has lived here for thirty years. —Emily Witt, New Yorker, 22 June 2025

Victor Avila, a 66-year-old long-term U.S. green card holder who legally immigrated in 1967 and has held a green card since, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to a GoFundMe. —Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025

Second, the ban stops people who may have waited 10 or 15 years to immigrate legally from arriving in the United States while the travel ban remains in place. —Stuart Anderson, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025

The man who installed the hurricane shutters on my house immigrated from Guatemala. —Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin immigratus, past participle of immigrare to remove, go in, from in- + migrare to migrate

First Known Use

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Rhymes for immigrate

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

Kids Definition

immigrate

verb

im·​mi·​grate ˈim-ə-ˌgrāt 

immigrated; immigrating

: to come into a foreign country to live

immigration

ˌim-ə-ˈgrā-shən 

noun