Meaning & use
migrate
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
To move from one region or habitat to another, especially seasonally, in order to find better conditions.
Grammar: No object; often followed by 'to', 'from', or 'south'.
Patterns
- migrate to a place
- migrate from a place
- migrate south/north
Many birds migrate to warmer regions in the winter.
Some fish migrate up rivers to lay their eggs.
The tribe migrates with the seasons to find fresh pasture.
verbtransitive or intransitivecomputing
To transfer data, programs, or systems from one computer environment to another.
Grammar: Can take an object (migrate the data) or be used without one (we migrated last month).
Patterns
- migrate data
- migrate to a new system
- migrate from something to something
The company will migrate all its files to the cloud next year.
We need to migrate the database to a more secure server.
After the update, users must migrate their old settings manually.
Word forms
| third person singular | migrates |
|---|---|
| past tense | migrated |
| past participle | migrated |
| -ing form | migrating |
Common combinations
- migrate to
- They plan to migrate to Canada next spring.
- migrate from
- These birds migrate from Scandinavia to Africa.
- migrate south
- The whales migrate south to breed.
- migrate seasonally
- Some species migrate seasonally across the plains.
- migrate data
- The IT team will migrate data to the new servers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- travel
- General word for going from one place to another; 'migrate' specifically suggests a group movement to a new home or habitat, often seasonal.
- relocate
- Used for people or companies moving to a new place permanently; 'migrate' is more often used for animals or for data.
- move
- A very general verb; 'migrate' is more formal and implies a long journey or a change of habitat.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: migrate or emigrate? migrate or immigrate?
migrate vs emigrate
Emigrate means to leave your own country to live elsewhere; migrate is a broader term for moving from one region to another, often used for animals.
migrate vs immigrate
Immigrate means to come into a new country to live; migrate does not necessarily imply crossing a national border.
Practice
Many birds ______ to warmer regions in the winter.
Choose one answer.
Migrate is the correct choice because it describes animals moving seasonally to better conditions. Emigrate and immigrate are used for people leaving or entering a country, and relocate is more often used for people or businesses moving permanently.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “migrate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.