immigrant
Definitions
A person who has come to live permanently in a foreign country
（移入的）移民，外来定居者
Relating to immigrants or immigration
移民的
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedim- (in) + migr (move) + -ant (one who) = one who has moved in. The camera sits at the destination: an immigrant is 'someone who came here to stay.' Its mirror image is emigrant (one who moved out) — the same traveller seen from the other end of the journey.
Root migr still carries 14 more wordsCommon Collocations
- 1.immigrant family移民家庭
- 2.immigrant community移民社区
- 3.immigrant workers移民工人
- 4.first-generation immigrant第一代移民
Example Sentences
- 1.
Her grandparents were immigrants who arrived from Italy in 1920.
- 2.
The city has welcomed immigrants from all over the world.
- 3.
Many immigrant families settled in this neighborhood decades ago.
Easily Confused
immigrant vs emigrant — the classic trap. They name the SAME person from opposite viewpoints. Someone who leaves Mexico for the US is an emigrant (from Mexico — moved out, e- = ex- = out) and an immigrant (to the US — moved in, im- = in- = in). Trick: imMigrant has the 'i' of IN (coming in); Emigrant has the 'e' of Exit (going out).
Synonym Comparison
- immigrant — has settled (or intends to) in a new country; viewed from the destination
- emigrant — the same mover viewed from the country left behind
- migrant — moves around, often for work, direction and permanence unspecified
- refugee — forced to flee danger (war, persecution), not a free choice
- expat (expatriate) — lives abroad but usually temporarily and by choice, often for work; rarely called an immigrant