migrate

verb
mi·​grate | \ ˈmī-ˌgrāt How to pronounce migrate (audio) , mī-ˈgrāt How to pronounce migrate (audio) \
migrated; migrating

Definition of migrate

intransitive verb

1 : to move from one country, place, or locality to another Thousands of workers migrate to this area in the summer.
2 : to pass usually periodically from one region or climate to another for feeding or breeding The whales migrate between their feeding ground in the north and their breeding ground in the Caribbean.
3 : to change position or location in an organism or substance filarial worms migrate within the human body

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Other Words from migrate

migrator \ ˈmī-​ˌgrā-​tər How to pronounce migrator (audio) , mī-​ˈgrā-​ \ noun

Examples of migrate in a Sentence

He migrates from New York to Florida each winter. Thousands of workers migrate to this area each summer. The whales migrate between their feeding ground in the north and their breeding ground in the Caribbean. They followed the migrating herds of buffalo across the plains.
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Recent Examples on the Web

San Diego’s monarch population doesn’t tend to migrate, Merriman said. San Diego Union-Tribune, "Encinitas nonprofit is saving butterflies," 5 Sep. 2019 Some were fortunate enough to migrate through legal channels, though most faced challenges to that route. baltimoresun.com, "Letters: Howard redistricting plan fixes nothing; don’t blame ICE for doing its job; and more from readers," 3 Sep. 2019 Under a 2001 agreement between federal and state officials, thousands of bison attempting to migrate to winter feeding grounds outside Yellowstone have been captured and sent to slaughter. Felicia Fonseca, BostonGlobe.com, "Grand Canyon to make second run at corralling bison herd," 2 Sep. 2019 But Kasich, who was criticized as governor for cuts to the state's local government fund, said large sums of undedicated money can tend to migrate. Julie Carr Smyth, Cincinnati.com, "John Kasich, Gordon Gee team up to steer opioid settlement cash to hospitals," 22 Aug. 2019 For the past several years, hundreds of thousands of people leaving from the Middle East or Africa have tried to migrate, or find asylum, in Europe. Annalisa Merelli, Quartz, "A stranded migrant rescue ship used its route to send a secret message to the world," 21 Aug. 2019 Nest owners who use IFTTT and choose not to migrate to Google accounts will face some quandaries down the road. Thomas Ricker, The Verge, "IFTTT warns its Nest users not to migrate to Google accounts," 20 Aug. 2019 While unaccompanied minors are usually depicted as passively accepting their families’ decisions, my research illustrates their active role in choosing whether and when to migrate. Milena Belloni, Quartz Africa, "Why young Eritreans are going to keep risking deadly migration crossings to Europe," 27 July 2019 Given the fact that pallid-winged grasshoppers tend to migrate following extremely wet winters or springs, Mindy Weisberger writes for Live Science, the insects’ current migration pattern makes sense. Meilan Solly, Smithsonian, "Swarms of Grasshoppers Invading Las Vegas Are Visible on Radar," 27 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'migrate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of migrate

circa 1623, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for migrate

Latin migratus, past participle of migrare; perhaps akin to Greek ameibein to change

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More Definitions for migrate

migrate

verb

English Language Learners Definition of migrate

: to move from one country or place to live or work in another
of a bird or animal : to move from one area to another at different times of the year

migrate

verb
mi·​grate | \ ˈmī-ˌgrāt How to pronounce migrate (audio) \
migrated; migrating

Kids Definition of migrate

1 : to move from one country or region to another Families migrated west in search of work.
2 : to pass from one region to another on a regular basis Many birds migrate south for the winter.
mi·​grate | \ ˈmī-ˌgrāt How to pronounce migrate (audio) , mī-ˈ How to pronounce migrate (audio) \
migrated; migrating

Medical Definition of migrate

: to move from one place to another: as
a : to move from one site to another in a host organism especially as part of a life cycle filarial worms migrate within the human body
b of an atom or group : to shift position within a molecule

Other Words from migrate

migratory \ ˈmī-​grə-​ˌtōr-​ē, -​ˌtȯr-​ How to pronounce migratory (audio) \ adjective

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