immigrant

immigrant — noun

1. someone who leaves their own country to settle permanently in another country

1.nounB2
Definition

someone who leaves their own country to settle permanently in another country

Example

The Polish immigrant found work at a local bakery within her first month in Chicago.

attributive noun: Polish immigrant

Kwame's grandmother was an immigrant who arrived from Ghana in the 1970s.

relative clause: immigrant who arrived from [country]

Synonyms
  • settler

    Carries a historical tone, often used for people who colonised new lands; less common in modern immigration contexts

  • expatriate (expat)

    Refers to someone living abroad, often temporarily and by choice; does not imply permanent settlement

  • newcomer

    Informal and broader — anyone recently arrived, regardless of whether they intend to stay permanently

Antonyms
  • emigrant

    Same movement described from the perspective of the country left behind, rather than the destination country

  • native

    A person born in a particular place, by contrast with someone who arrived from elsewhere

  • emigré

    A person who has left their own country, often for political reasons; overlaps conceptually but carries a political nuance

Usage Note

Distinguish from refugee (someone forced to flee due to war or persecution) and migrant (someone who moves, often temporarily or for work). Immigrant specifically implies a choice to settle in the new country permanently.

Common Mistakes

I met an immigrant who works here for the summer.
I met a migrant worker who is here for the summer.
An immigrant intends to stay permanently, not just for a season.
The country accepted 10,000 immigrants fleeing the war.
The country accepted 10,000 refugees fleeing the war.
People forced to leave by war or persecution are refugees, not immigrants.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Immigrant, migrant, and refugee all describe people who move between countries, but the reasons and permanence differ sharply. An immigrant chooses to leave their home country and intends to settle permanently in the new country — the focus is on arrival and long-term residence. A migrant is a broader term: it covers anyone moving from one place to another, often for work or seasonal reasons, without implying permanent settlement. A refugee is forced to flee their home country because of war, violence, or persecution and cannot safely return. A refugee may later become an immigrant if granted permanent status, but the initial movement is not voluntary. For example, a Mexican farm worker who returns home each winter is a migrant; a Syrian family granted asylum in Canada and planning to stay is a refugee on the path to becoming an immigrant.

immigrant ↗migrant ↗refugee ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • immigrant community
  • immigrant family
  • immigrant rights
  • immigrant visa
  • wave of immigrants

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinEnglish

Derived from the Latin verb immigrare, a combination of in- ('into') and migrare ('to move from one place to another'). The word entered English in the late 18th century as a direct counterpart to emigrant, shifting the perspective from the country left behind to the destination country. Related words include migrate, emigrate, and migrant.