migratory

[ mahy-gruh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

adjective

1. migrating.
2. periodically migrating:

   a migratory species; migratory workers.

3. pertaining to a migration:

   migratory movements of birds.

4. roving; nomadic; wandering.

migratory

/ ˈmaɪɡrətərɪ; -trɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by migration
2. nomadic; itinerant

migratory

/ mī′grə-tôr′ē /

1. Traveling from one place to another at regular times of year, often over long distances. Salmon, whales, and swallows are all migratory animals.

Other Words From

• non·migra·tory adjective
• pre·migra·tory adjective
• un·migra·tive adjective
• un·migra·tory adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of migratory¹

First recorded in 1745–55; migrate + -ory ¹

Example Sentences

Here, visitors can spot otters, foxes, deer, and hundreds of migratory bird species from a two-mile boardwalk through the park.

From Outside Online

Monarch butterflies are found across North America in two migratory populations separated by the Rocky Mountains.

From Popular-Science

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, for example, grants a Bird Friendly certification to plantations with ample native tree cover and diversity, a boon for migratory birds.

From Science News

That energy burn is roughly five times his resting metabolic rate, which is higher than most mammals and not far off migratory birds.

From Outside Online

Thus, a thousand mile migratory trek would be out of the question.

From Popular-Science

Mayor Gardner noted that a lake that had served as a summer breeding ground for migratory cranes recently disappeared.

From The Daily Beast

As a result, the water sank into the ground, prompting migratory cranes to issue calls of “grief and bewilderment.”

From The Daily Beast

But it was also about the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, threatened by the flooding of the Great Salt Lake.

From The Daily Beast

Demographic experts say Philadelphia is in the crosshairs of several unfortunate trends, both economic and migratory.

From The Daily Beast

I have not been able to learn that the migratory flock above spoken of extended to any of the other Islands.

From Project Gutenberg

So probably its numbers are occasionally increased by migratory flocks in the winter.

From Project Gutenberg

These migratory hosts left a desert behind them, and they either gained a settlement or perished.

From Project Gutenberg

Yamba told me that there would have been no help for us had we been overtaken on foot by these migratory rodents.

From Project Gutenberg

The migratory birds are seen and heard flying northward by relays in hundreds of thousands.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• seasonal
• transient