emigrate

UK: /ˈɛmɪgreɪt/ US: /ˈɛmɪˌgreɪt/ ,(em′i grāt′)

Inflections of 'emigrate' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

emigrates

v 3rd person singular

emigrating

v pres p

emigrated

v past

emigrated

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

em•i•grate /ˈɛmɪˌgreɪt/   v. [no object] , -grat•ed, -grat•ing. 

1. to leave one country or region to settle in another; migrate:
   My grandmother emigrated from Russia in 1930.

em•i•grant /ˈɛmɪgrənt/  n. [countable]
e•mi•gra•tion /ˌɛmɪˈgreɪʃən/  n. [countable* uncountable] See -migr-.
Related Words

emigrate is a verb, emigrant and émigré are nouns:
They emigrated from their home country. They were emigrants. They were émigrés from eastern Europe.

Usage

See immigrate.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

em•i•grate  (em′i grāt′), v.i., -grat•ed, -grat•ing. 

1. to leave one country or region to settle in another;
   migrate:
   to emigrate from Ireland to Australia.

• Latin ēmīgrātus moved away (past participle of ēmīgrāre), equivalent. to ē- e- + mīgrātus (mīgr- remove + ātus -ate¹)
• 1770–80

em′i•gra′tive, adj. 
Synonyms

See migrate. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

emigrate / ˈɛmɪˌɡreɪt/ verb

1. (intransitive) to leave one place or country, esp one's native country, in order to settle in another
   Compare immigrate

Etymology: 18th Century: from Latin ēmīgrāre, from mīgrāre to depart, migrate

ˈemiˌgratory adjective