migrant

American  

[mahy-gruhnt] / ˈmaɪ grənt /

adjective

1. migrating, especially of people; migratory.

---

noun

1. a person or animal that migrates.

2. a person who attempts to permanently relocate to a new country, but who may be subject to removal by the government of that country: unaccompanied child migrants.

   undocumented migrants;

   unaccompanied child migrants.

3. Also called migrant worker.  a person who moves from place to place to get work, especially a farm laborer who harvests crops seasonally.

migrant British  

/ ˈmaɪɡrənt /

noun

1. a person or animal that moves from one region, place, or country to another

2. an itinerant agricultural worker who travels from one district to another

3. 1. an immigrant, esp a recent one

   2. ( as modifier )

      a migrant hostel

---

adjective

1. moving from one region, place, or country to another; migratory

Other Word Forms

• nonmigrant adjective
• unmigrant adjective

Etymology

Origin of migrant

1665–75; < Latin migrant- (stem of migrāns ), present participle of migrāre. See migrate, -ant

Example Sentences

In the 2023–24 school year, migrant students accounted for 2.7% of California’s homeless student population — double the national share among homeless students reported the previous year, according to the study.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

"Everyone is worried," said 29-year-old labourer Bunty Goswami, a migrant worker at a shut plant.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

Over the past year, Iran has pre-positioned arms and ammunition for proxy cells in countries including Germany and Austria, as well as along migrant routes in the Balkans, several European and U.S. officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

The community has been “shaken to its foundation,” said Ramirez, the founder of Justice for Migrant Women, a civil rights organization focusing on farmworker and migrant women.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

This migrant family has just arrived in Chicago with suitcases and overcoats.

From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield

Related Words

• emigrant
• evacuee
• expatriate
• immigrant
• traveler