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

Some of Paris’ African American residents had actually wanted to immigrate to their ancestral continent, using Paris as a point of transit, the museum statement notes. —Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Apr. 2025

What if, centuries ago, one of your ancestors chose not to immigrate to a new country? —Nuno Fernandes, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025

Pacheco immigrated to the United States from Venezuela in 2022 seeking asylum, said Tovia Siegel, director of organizing and leadership for immigrant justice at the Resurrection Project. —Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2025

Rahim Amiri immigrated from Afghanistan in 1980 and landed in Connecticut, where his family opened a restaurant that his sister continues to run. —Benjy Egel, Sacbee.com, 2 Apr. 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