immigrant

im‧mi‧grant AC /ˈɪməɡrənt, ˈɪmɪɡrənt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Word Family: noun: ↑immigration ≠ ↑emigration, ↑immigrant ≠ ↑emigrant; verb: ↑immigrate ≠ ↑emigrate]
someone who enters another country to live there permanently ⇨ emigrant:
an illegal immigrant
a new wave of immigrants from the Middle East
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ an illegal immigrant Large numbers of illegal immigrants have found their way into the country.
▪ a legal immigrant Two thirds of legal immigrants to the country came from Europe and Canada.
▪ a recent immigrant The majority of workers at the factory are recent immigrants.
▪ European/African etc immigrants There has been a recent increase in the number of African immigrants.
▪ a first-generation immigrant (=someone who is an immigrant, or whose parents were immigrants) Her parents were first-generation immigrants from Poland.
▪ a second-generation immigrant (=someone whose parents or grandparents were immigrants) These boys are second-generation immigrants who grew up speaking English.
■ phrases
▪ a wave/influx of immigrants (=a large number of them) A new wave of immigrants arrived in the 1950s.
▪ a flood of immigrants (=a very large number of immigrants that arrive at the same time) He suggested the country would experience a flood of immigrants.
■ immigrant + NOUN
▪ an immigrant family A quarter of the school’s students are from immigrant families.
▪ immigrant workers Many immigrant workers had to live in deprived areas.
▪ an immigrant community There are shops catering for the various immigrant communities.
▪ the immigrant population The immigrant population increased rapidly during the 1970s.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

immigrant

im·mi·grant AW [immigrant immigrants] [ˈɪmɪɡrənt] [ˈɪmɪɡrənt] noun
a person who has come to live permanently in a country that is not their own
• immigrant communities/families/workers
• illegal immigrants
compare emigrant, migrant
Word Origin:
late 18th cent.: from Latin immigrant- ‘immigrating’, from the verb immigrare, on the pattern of emigrant.
Collocations:
Race and immigration
Prejudice and racism
experience/encounter racism/discrimination/prejudice/anti-semitism
face/suffer persecution/discrimination
fear/escape from/flee racial/political/religious persecution
constitute/be a form of racial/race discrimination
reflect/reveal/show/have a racial/cultural bias
be biased/be prejudiced against (especially BrE) black people/(both especially NAmE) people of color/African Americans/Asians/Africans/Indians, etc.
discriminate against minority groups/minorities
perpetuate/conform to/fit/defy a common/popular/traditional/negative stereotype
overcome/be blinded by deep-seated/racial/(especially NAmE) race prejudice
entrench/perpetuate racist attitudes
hurl/shout (especially BrE) racist abuse; (especially NAmE) a racist/racial/ethnic slur
challenge/confront racism/discrimination/prejudice
combat/fight (against)/tackle blatant/overt/covert/subtle/institutional/systemic racism
Race and society
damage/improve (especially BrE) race relations
practise/ (especially US) practice (racial/religious) tolerance/segregation
bridge/break down/transcend cultural/racial barriers
encourage/promote social integration
outlaw/end discrimination/slavery/segregation
promote/embrace/celebrate cultural diversity
conform to/challenge/violate (accepted/established/prevailing/dominant) social/cultural norms
live in a multicultural society
attack/criticize multiculturalism
fight for/struggle for/promote racial equality
perpetuate/reinforce economic and social inequality
introduce/be for/be against (BrE) positive discrimination/(especially NAmE) affirmative action
support/be active in/play a leading role in the civil rights movement
Immigration
control/restrict/limit/encourage immigration
attract/draw a wave of immigrants
assist/welcome refugees
house/shelter refugees and asylum seekers
smuggle illegal immigrants into the UK
deport/repatriate illegal immigrants/failed asylum seekers
assimilate/integrate new immigrants
employ/hire migrant workers
exploit/rely on (cheap/illegal) immigrant labour/(especially US) labor
apply for/gain/obtain/be granted/be denied (full) citizenship
have/hold dual citizenship
Example Bank:
• Businesses may want to hire skilled immigrants.
• European immigrants fleeing Nazism in the 1930s
• European immigrants settled much of Australia.
• First-generation immigrants may dream of returning ‘home’; their children say Britain is their home.
• Italian immigrants assimilated easily into Brazilian society.
• Like many first-generation immigrants, they worked hard and saved most of their earnings.
• Mexican immigrants seeking farm work
• She was the daughter of Chinese immigrants to America.
• The company was founded by two immigrants from Bangladesh.
• The government is eager to attract skilled immigrants.
• These factors attracted new immigrants.
• These were working-class immigrants, mainly from rural parts of Mexico.
• They are trying to secure immigrant status for their families.
• a careful mechanism for assimilating immigrants
• a family of Turkish immigrants living in California
• a law designed to exclude Chinese immigrants
• a young Afghan immigrant who has worked at the store for years
• anti-terrorist legislation that targeted immigrants
• boats bringing illegal immigrants over from North Africa
• different aspects of the immigrant experience
• immigrants seeking to enter the country
• poor immigrants from Latin American countries
• recent immigrants who do not speak English
• ships laden with would-be immigrants who were forcibly returned
• the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in California
• the circumstances under which immigrants were detained
• the immigrants who poured into America
• the issues faced by Dominican immigrants
• the number of legal immigrants to the US
• Illegal immigrants are to be sent back to their country of origin.

• immigrant communities/families/workers

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

immigrant / ˈɪm.ɪ.ɡrənt / noun [ C ]

B2 a person who has come to a different country in order to live there permanently:

a large immigrant population

Illegal immigrants are sent back across the border if they are caught.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

immigrant

[ɪ̱mɪgrənt]

immigrants
N-COUNT
An immigrant is a person who has come to live in a country from some other country. Compare emigrant.
...illegal immigrants.
...immigrant visas.
Syn:
settler

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

immigrant

im·mi·grant /ˈɪməgrənt/ noun, pl -grants [count] : a person who comes to a country to live there
• Millions of immigrants came to America from Europe in the 19th century.
• The city has a large immigrant population.
• an illegal immigrant [=a person who enters and lives in a country without official permission]
- compare emigrant, migrant