ˈmīˌgrāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin migratus, past participle of migrare; akin to Greek ameibein to change, and perhaps to Sanskrit mayate he exchanges — more at mean
intransitive verb
: to move from one place to another: as
a.
(1) : to leave one country, region, or place in order to settle in another
pretty lucky to have migrated to this country — Victor Boesen
(2) : to move from one area to another in search of work (as seasonal labor)
migrating with the alternation of crops through field after field of the West — Oscar Handlin
(3) : transfer ; specifically : to transfer from one college to another at a university in the British Isles
designing to migrate presently to a theological college — John Buchan
migrated to Emmanuel … probably to be at his elder brother's college — A.J.Shirren
b.
(1) : to pass periodically from one region or climate to another for feeding or breeding
birds that migrate only at night — F.A.Geldard
(2) : to extend the habitat gradually from an old or into a new region
some plants failed to migrate into their old ranges as the glaciation diminished
(3) : to move from one site to another in a host organism especially as part of a life cycle
filiarial worms migrate within the human body
(4) : to alter position in the course of embryologic development or other organic process
one eye gradually migrates across the top the head, until both are on the same side — R.E.Coker
c.
(1) : to move or undergo removal from one locality to another as a result of the operation of natural forces
the dunes usually migrate inland — W.W.Atwood b.1906
(2) of an atom or group : to shift position within a molecule
(3) of an ion : to move toward an electrode
(4) of a chemical substance : to move or diffuse into an environing medium
plasticizers that migrate into the adhesive film — Product Engineering
retard the development of rancidity when oxidable oils … migrate into it — J.J.Aid
d. : to change locale or center of gravity : shift
the coal-mining centers … have migrated eastward — L.D.Stamp
industry, having migrated from the manor to the craft guild of the town — Stringfellow Barr
transitive verb
: to cause to migrate
migrate a silicon atom — J.R.Goldsmith