emigrate
verbUS, UK /ˈɛmɪɡɹeɪt/ · /ˈɪmɪɡɹeɪt/
Etymology From Latin emigratus, perfect passive participle of emigro (“to move away, remove, depart from a place”), from ex- (“out of, from”) + migro (“to move, remove, depart”).
1
To leave the country in which one lives, especially one's native country, in order to reside elsewhere.
- Forced to emigrate in a body to America.1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “Oliver Goldsmith”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord Macaulay, new edition, London: Longman, Green, Reader, & Dyer, published 1871, →OCLC:
- They [the Huns] were emigrating from Tartary into Europe in the time of the Goths.1872, John Henry Newman, Historical Sketches:
1 more example
- Her family was planning to emigrate to the U.S. from Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and couldn't afford school fees.2025 November 13, Kamala Thiagarajan, “If you're going to be kind to another human, today is the day to do it!”, in NPR:
- Antonyms
- immigrate
- Derived terms
- emigrator, unemigrating
- Related terms
- emigrant, emigration, émigré, immigrant, immigrate, immigration, migrate, migration, migratory