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

My grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Italy.

transitive verb

: to bring in or send as immigrants

helped immigrate them

Examples of immigrate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Authorities said Garcia was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States during his childhood. — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 7 Oct. 2026

Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as a Christian couple with five children who have immigrated from Romania to Norway. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

Mayrin said her father immigrated to the country more than 20 years ago from Oaxaca, a southern state in Mexico. — Mathew Miranda, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026

The Mins and their sister, Alexandra, immigrated to the United States in 1977 from Korea with their parents. — Susanne Rust, Los Angeles Times, 4 Oct. 2026

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
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

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