Definition of: emigrate

(em′ə·grāt) v.i. ·grat·ed, ·grat·ing
To go from one country, or section of a country, to settle in another. [<L emigratus, pp. of emigrare <ex- out + migrare move] Synonyms: immigrate, migrate. To migrate is to change one's dwelling place, usually with the idea of repeated change, or of periodical return; it applies to wandering tribes of men, and to many birds and animals. Emigrate and immigrate carry the idea of a permanent change of residence to some other country or some distant region; the two words are used distinctively of human beings, and apply to the same person and the same act, according to the side from which the action is viewed. A person emigrates from the land he leaves, and immigrates to the land where he takes up his abode.