immigrant

[ im-i-gruhnt ]

noun

1. a person who migrates to another country, usually for permanent residence.
2. an organism found in a new habitat.

adjective

1. of or relating to immigrants and immigration:

   a department for immigrant affairs.

2. immigrating.

immigrant

/ ˈɪmɪɡrənt /

noun

1. 1. a person who comes to a country in order to settle there Compare emigrant
   2. ( as modifier )

      an immigrant community

2. an animal or plant that lives or grows in a region to which it has recently migrated

Other Words From

• non·immi·grant noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of immigrant¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1780–90; from Latin immigrant-, stem of immigrāns “moving into,” present participle of immigrāre “to move into”; equivalent to im- ¹ + migrant

Example Sentences

Here’s where Tanton’s personal history becomes essential to understanding America’s recent resurgence of immigrant hate.

From Salon

With time, “immigrant” would become a euphemism for “nonwhite.”

From Salon

According to the California Immigrant Data Portal, California alone is home to 2.44 million undocumented immigrants and 3.59 million U.S. citizens who live with undocumented family members.

From Los Angeles Times

Mexican immigrant mothers and their American-born children — seeking basic healthcare at Los Angeles County General Hospital, for instance — were scapegoated as undesirable and deported directly from the hospital.

From Los Angeles Times

In this case, it would be preferable for the media to educate us on our rights, and what it’s like to have those rights taken away; on the value of pluralism versus uniformity; what it’s like to be an immigrant, which not a bad thing but a hard thing.

From Salon