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Definition of migrant in English:

migrant

Pronunciation /ˈmīɡrənt/ /ˈmaɪɡrənt/

See synonyms for migrant

Translate migrant into Spanish

noun

  • 1A person who moves from one place to another, especially in order to find work or better living conditions.

    ‘To prevent this happening 12 member countries have put a block on migrants moving there until up to 2011.’
    • ‘The migrants moved to one side of their 33 ft boat and the vessel tipped over.’
    • ‘When land was surveyed and the location of the capital decided most of these migrants moved to Adelaide.’
    • ‘One particular myth is that migrants and refugees are a ‘drain on our economy’.’
    • ‘We recognise that some migrants, and especially refugees, may have high settlement needs.’
    • ‘Javier investigates the economic and political impact of Mexican migrants in the US on their home country.’
    • ‘It will also enhance the ability of migrants, refugees, and their families to settle here.’
    • ‘On the other hand, some financial interests have argued that Australia needs more migrants to boost economic growth.’
    • ‘The second project, which is about to be published, documents the plight of refugees and migrants.’
    • ‘We did in fact change the way in which we talked about refugees or migrants or New Australians.’
    • ‘Kocher, who often casts herself as a migrant, displaced from all possible homes, appropriately closes the volume on this ambivalent note.’
    • ‘Some migrants may prefer the anonymity of the shadow economy to the prospect of dealing with the authorities.’
    • ‘The migrants got along under the colonial regimes, dealing with powers as they found them.’
    • ‘We will not turn our back on these or other migrants contributing so much to our economy and our society.’
    • ‘The first is that there is a fundamental difference between a refugee, who is fleeing persecution, and a migrant, who is seeking a better life.’
    • ‘He also referred to the economic significance of funds that migrants send back to their countries of origin.’
    • ‘We changed the immigration policy to recruit more migrants who could meet labour force needs.’
    • ‘This is because the work migrants do adds to the running of the economy.’
    • ‘Movement was driven mainly by the political, economic, social, and professional circumstances of the individual migrant.’
    • ‘These migrants are not being treated as slaves or even as animals - they are being treated worse than that.’
    immigrant, emigrant, incomer, newcomer, asylum seeker, settler, expatriate, expat, exile
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  • 2An animal that migrates.

    ‘Very pale and worn, the insect was clearly a migrant that had arrived from North Africa on the high pressure zone.’
    • ‘Birds that were altitudinal migrants or local nomads were classified as resident.’
    • ‘Our study focused on the Wood Thrush, a Neotropical migrant that nests in eastern woodlands of North America.’
    • ‘In California, the last of the southbound animals sometimes overlap with the first northbound migrants.’
    • ‘The Myrtle form of Yellow-rumped Warbler is a common migrant and winter resident in Washington.’
    • ‘This species is a common passerine long-distance migrant of average size, used previously as a basis for model predictions.’
    • ‘Although we love our regular yard birds, every spring we are delighted with each migrant that returns to nest with us.’
    • ‘The spring migrants have moved on but the shorebirds haven't yet arrived in force.’

adjective

attributive

  • Tending to migrate or having migrated.

    ‘migrant birds’
    • ‘There was no running water and no electricity available to sustain this tiny enclave of fisherman and migrant workers, yet the mood during my visit was upbeat.’
    • ‘The normal differences between urban and rural, elite and the rest, apply - with a large group of low-paid migrant workers added in.’
    • ‘This is a lot different from the attitudes revealed in past surveys when migrant workers would not have had any second thoughts before buying the cheapest product available.’
    • ‘To keep their jobs, migrant workers have to tolerate unfair treatment and having their pay withheld which, in turn, encourages employers to skirt the law.’
    • ‘Restrictions or bans by certain countries have been placed to protect migrant workers from trafficking and other rights violations.’
    travelling, wandering, moving, migrating, migratory, expatriate
    View synonyms