What does emigrate mean?
To emigrate is to leave one's country of residence permanently in order to establish a new home elsewhere, usually across national borders. The word carries no inherent judgment: it can describe someone fleeing hardship, pursuing opportunity, or joining family abroad, and it appears most often in historical accounts, census records, journalism about migration flows, and stories of personal relocation. It is typically paired with 'from' (the country being left) and 'to' (the destination), as in 'she emigrated from Poland to Australia.' Crucially, emigrate describes the act of departing, while its counterpart immigrate describes the same movement from the perspective of arrival; an emigrant in one country is simultaneously an immigrant in another. Related forms include the noun emigrant, meaning a person who leaves, and emigration, the process itself. Because migration shapes family histories and national demographics alike, emigrate remains a precise and valuable term whenever permanent departure — not merely travel — is meant.
verbTo leave one's country or region of residence in order to settle permanently in another.
- To leave one's own country or region in order to settle permanently in another.
"Her grandparents emigrated from Ireland in the 1950s in search of better opportunities."
"After years of political unrest, thousands of families chose to emigrate to Canada."
"He decided to emigrate from Germany in search of a warmer climate and a slower pace of life."
The same journey is two different words depending on which border you're standing on — you emigrate from where you leave and immigrate to where you land.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of emigrate
Emigrate comes from Latin emigrare, formed from the prefix e- ('out of') plus migrare ('to move, to migrate'), literally meaning 'to move out.' It entered English via post-classical Latin usage in the late 18th century, when large-scale transatlantic movement made such terminology newly practical. It shares its root migrare with related terms including migrate, immigrate, and transmigrate, all built on the same Latin stem.
Related word forms
How emigrate is actually used
Emigrate is a formal or neutral verb used chiefly in writing about migration history, immigration policy, and personal relocation. It is typically followed by 'from' to mark the country left and 'to' for the destination. It implies permanent settlement rather than temporary travel, so it would not be used of tourism or short-term work abroad.
Easily confused with emigrate
Emigrate means to leave your own country to live elsewhere, while immigrate means to come into a new country to live there; the same move is described as emigrating by the person leaving and immigrating by the person arriving.