What does expat mean?
An expat — short for expatriate — is someone who chooses to live outside their native country, usually for work, retirement, lifestyle, or an extended adventure rather than as a permanent relocation. The word carries connotations of relative privilege and impermanence: expats are commonly imagined as professionals on foreign contracts, retirees in sunnier climates, or members of a visible international community, which distinguishes the term in popular usage from 'immigrant', though the line between the two is blurry and increasingly debated. In everyday language, expat appears constantly in phrases like 'the expat community', 'expat life', and 'an American expat in Paris', and entire industries — housing, insurance, banking — cater specifically to this group. Derived from the Latin 'ex patria', meaning 'out of one's fatherland', the word began as a term of exile and banishment; its modern sense of voluntary residence abroad is comparatively recent. Today it is informal but fully standard in both British and American English.
nounAn expat is a person who lives outside their native country, typically on a temporary or semi-permanent basis. It is a shortening of the fuller term 'expatriate'.
- A person who resides temporarily or semi-permanently outside their native country.
"After a decade in Singapore, Sarah had become part of the city's large community of British expats."
"The company flew in a team of expats to oversee the new factory."
"As a retired expat living in Portugal, he paid close attention to changes in residency rules."
Regular plural; used freely in both British and American English.
"The island draws thousands of expats each winter."
'Expat' traces back to the Latin 'ex patria' — literally 'out of one's fatherland' — and was once a word of banishment before it became shorthand for a life abroad.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of expat
"Expat" derives from the Latin phrase "ex patria", meaning "out of one's native country", via the older English noun "expatriate", which itself came from the verb "to expatriate" — originally meaning to banish someone from their homeland or to renounce allegiance to it. The word entered English in the early modern period carrying this punitive sense of exile. Over time the notion of voluntary residence abroad displaced that of banishment, and the clipped form "expat" emerged as a casual shortening, becoming widespread in the twentieth century alongside growing international mobility. Its root connects it to words such as "patriot" and "compatriot", all stemming from the Greek-derived "patria", fatherland.
Related word forms
How expat is actually used
"Expat" is informal but widely accepted in both speech and writing. In recent years it has attracted discussion because it is often applied preferentially to Western professionals abroad, while similar migrants may be labelled 'immigrants' or 'workers'; writers who want neutral terminology often use 'expatriate' or simply 'migrant'. The plural is straightforwardly 'expats'.
Easily confused with expat
An expat is generally viewed as living abroad temporarily or for work while retaining ties to their home country, whereas an immigrant is understood to be relocating permanently with the intention of settling.