migrate
gb/mˈaɪɡɹˌeɪt/ us/mˈaɪɡɹˌeɪt/
B2
English
~ 6400
áttelepül, bevándorol, elvándorol, vándorlás, vándorol, vonul, vonulás, átkerül, áttevődik, átáll, migrál, átköltöztet, áttelepít
VERB
B2
1
Usage pattern:
[someone] migrates from [a place] to [a place]
Many young people migrate from rural villages to big cities in search of better jobs.
Sok fiatal vándorol el vidéki falvakból a nagyvárosokba jobb munkalehetőségek reményében.
After the war, thousands of families migrated to neighboring countries.
A háború után családok ezrei települtek át a szomszédos országokba.
Over the last decade, skilled workers have migrated from the region to North America.
As the economy changed, people began to migrate inland from the coastal areas.
Farmers sometimes migrate to the capital during the dry season to find temporary work.
Learner examples
Every year, many workers migrate to the city.
Évente sok munkavállaló vándorol a városba.
Her parents migrated from Mexico to the United States.
A szülei Mexikóból vándoroltak be az Egyesült Államokba.
Some people migrate to another country to find a better life.
After losing his job, he migrated to the capital to look for work.
Common mistake:
Learners often confuse 'migrate', 'immigrate', and 'emigrate'. Use 'migrate' for the general movement of people or groups. Use 'emigrate from' to talk about leaving a country, and 'immigrate to' to talk about entering a new country. Example: 'They migrated during the drought', 'They emigrated from Syria', 'They immigrated to Canada'. Another mistake is adding an object: *'They migrated themselves to the city' is incorrect; say 'They migrated to the city'.
Meaning
move to live or work elsewhere
Collocations
migrate to cities
|migrate from rural areas
|migrate in search of work
|migrate across borders
|migrate to urban centers
|migrate seasonally for jobs
Synonyms
relocate (More general and often used for moving within the same country or company, not specifically about international movement of populations.)
|
emigrate (Focuses on leaving one’s home country permanently; more formal and precise than 'migrate'.)
Antonyms
settle (Emphasizes staying and making a permanent home instead of moving to a new region.)
|
remain (Highlights not moving away from the current place.)
Themes
society
|geography
|work
|travel
|core_vocabulary
Definition
To go to another country or area to live or work there, often for a long time.
To move from one country or region to another, often in large numbers, in order to live or work there for an extended period.
VERB
B2
2
Usage pattern:
[animals] migrate to/from [a place]
Millions of birds migrate south for the winter.
Madármilliók vonulnak délre télire.
The wildebeest migrate across the Serengeti in search of fresh grass.
A gnúk friss füvet keresve vándorolnak át a Serengetin.
These salmon migrate upstream to the river where they were born to spawn.
Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles to their wintering sites in Mexico.
As the seasons change, many species migrate to warmer coastal waters.
Learner examples
Many birds migrate when it gets cold.
Sok madár melegebb tájakra vonul, amikor hideg lesz.
Whales migrate to warm water to have their babies.
A bálnák meleg vizekbe vándorolnak, hogy világra hozzák a kicsinyeiket.
Every year the animals migrate to find food.
Some fish migrate up the river to lay eggs.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes mix up 'migrate' and 'hibernate'. 'Migrate' means animals travel to another place; 'hibernate' means animals sleep deeply for a long time during winter. Example: 'Bears usually hibernate, but birds usually migrate.'
Meaning
animals’ regular seasonal movement
Collocations
birds migrate south
|herds migrate across the plains
|whales migrate thousands of kilometers
|fish migrate upstream
|species that migrate seasonally
|migrate to breeding grounds
Synonyms
move (Very general; does not include the idea of regular, long-distance, seasonal travel like 'migrate' does.)
|
travel (Describes going from one place to another but lacks the specific biological and seasonal meaning of 'migrate'.)
Antonyms
remain (Focuses on animals staying in one area instead of moving between regions.)
|
stay put (Informal expression highlighting not moving at all.)
Themes
nature
|animals
|science
Definition
When animals, like birds or whales, travel to another place at the same time every year, often because of the weather or to have babies.
For animals, especially birds and large wild species, to move regularly between different regions according to the season or stage of their life cycle.
VERB
C1
3
Usage pattern:
[something] migrates from [thing/place] to [thing/place]
Over the last decade, much of our shopping has migrated online.
Az elmúlt évtizedben a vásárlásaink nagy része átkerült az online térbe.
Young listeners are migrating from traditional radio to streaming platforms.
A fiatal hallgatók a hagyományos rádióról a streamingplatformokra állnak át.
Advertising budgets have gradually migrated from print to digital media.
Many classroom activities migrated to video calls during the pandemic.
Viewers quickly migrated to the new service after the show switched networks.
Learner examples
Many people have migrated from TV to online video.
Sokan a tévéről az online videókra álltak át.
Our meetings migrated from the office to video calls.
A megbeszéléseink az irodából videóhívásokra tevődtek át.
Most news has migrated from paper to the internet.
Customers are migrating from the old app to the new one.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think 'migrate' can only be used for people or animals. In modern English, it is also common to say activities, users, or services 'migrate' from one platform or medium to another, especially in business and technology news.
Meaning
shift activity or users elsewhere
Collocations
audiences migrate online
|services migrate to digital platforms
|customers migrate to competitors
|traffic migrates to mobile
|users migrate from one app to another
|content migrating to streaming
Synonyms
shift (Broad and informal; emphasizes change but not necessarily movement between systems or places.)
|
transition (More formal; stresses a gradual change in form or state rather than simple movement.)
Antonyms
stay (Highlights that the activity or group does not move to a new system or place.)
|
remain (More formal; emphasizes continuing in the same situation or medium.)
Themes
business
|technology
|media
|communication
Definition
To move an activity, service, or group of people from one place or system to another place or system.
To move or shift an activity, service, audience, or group from one place, medium, or system to another.
VERB
B2
TECHNICAL
4
Usage pattern:
[someone] migrates [data/system] to [a platform]
The company plans to migrate all customer data to a new cloud platform.
A vállalat azt tervezi, hogy az összes ügyféladatot egy új felhőplatformra migrálja.
We need to migrate the old email system before support ends.
Migrálnunk kell a régi levelezőrendszert, mielőtt megszűnik a támogatása.
IT has scheduled downtime this weekend to migrate the database servers.
They successfully migrated their website from shared hosting to a dedicated server.
Before you migrate user accounts, make sure you have a full backup.
Learner examples
The team will migrate the website to a new server.
A csapat új szerverre fogja migrálni a weboldalt.
We are migrating our files to the cloud.
A fájljainkat a felhőbe migráljuk.
They migrated all user data to the new system.
IT will migrate the old app to a new platform.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use 'update' or 'upgrade' when they really mean 'migrate'. 'Update' means to add the latest changes to the same system, and 'upgrade' means to move to a newer version. 'Migrate' means to move data or systems to a different environment or platform.
Meaning
move data or systems elsewhere
Collocations
migrate data
|migrate a database
|migrate users
|migrate to the cloud
|migrate from legacy systems
|migrate applications
Synonyms
transfer (General word for moving data; does not always include the idea of changing platforms or systems like 'migrate' often does.)
|
port (Technical term that stresses adapting software so it can run on a different system, not just moving it.)
Antonyms
retain (In IT contexts, keeping data or systems on the existing platform instead of moving them.)
|
decommission (To take a system out of service entirely rather than move it to another environment.)
Themes
technology
|computing
|business
Definition
In computing, to move programs or data from one computer system or platform to another.
In computing, to move software, data, or entire systems from one hardware, platform, or environment to another, usually with minimal disruption.
VERB
C1
TECHNICAL
5
Usage pattern:
[cells] migrate to [a location]
During inflammation, immune cells migrate rapidly to the affected tissue.
Gyulladás során az immunsejtek gyorsan a gyulladt szövetbe vándorolnak.
Cancer cells can migrate through the bloodstream and form tumors in other organs.
A ráksejtek a véráramon keresztül elvándorolhatnak, és más szervekben daganatokat hozhatnak létre.
Neural crest cells migrate extensively during early development to form various structures.
Endothelial cells migrate to close the wound surface.
In this assay we measure how quickly the cells migrate across the membrane.
Learner examples
Some cancer cells migrate to other parts of the body.
Egyes ráksejtek a test más részeibe vándorolnak.
White blood cells migrate to the place of infection.
A fehérvérsejtek a fertőzés helyére vándorolnak.
These cells migrate to repair the damaged area.
During growth, some cells migrate to form new tissue.
Common mistake:
Learners may not realize that 'migrate' is also used for cells, not only for people and animals. In scientific texts, 'cell migration' is a standard phrase and is not metaphorical.
Meaning
cells moving within an organism
Collocations
cancer cells migrate
|immune cells migrate to the site of infection
|cells migrate along chemical gradients
|neural crest cells migrate
|tumor cells migrate through tissue
|migrate across the membrane
Synonyms
move (Very general; lacks the technical biological context and patterns of 'migrate'.)
|
spread (Often used for disease or cancer; focuses on expansion rather than directed movement of individual cells.)
Antonyms
remain (Describes cells staying at their original site instead of moving to a new location.)
|
localize (Technical term meaning to stay or become limited to one specific area.)
Themes
science
|medicine
|biology
|health
Definition
In biology, when cells move from one place in the body to another place.
In biology and medicine, for cells or small organisms to move from one location in a body or environment to another.
Grammar
Dictionary form
migrate
IPA
GB/mˈaɪɡɹˌeɪt/
US/mˈaɪɡɹˌeɪt/
Syllables & stress
mi - grate (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (mi)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: migrate
- 3rd Person Singular: migrates
- Present Participle: migrating
- Past: migrated
Word family
Expressions
migrate online
1/mˈaɪɡɹˌeɪt ˈɔnlˌaɪn/
fixed phrase
move activities onto the internet
To move an activity or service from the physical world to the internet.
Examples
- Many university courses have migrated online in recent years.
- Local shops are trying to migrate online to reach more customers.
- During the pandemic, most of our events migrated online.
migrate south for the winter
1/mˈaɪɡɹˌeɪt sˈaʊθ fɚ ðə wˈɪntɚ/
fixed phrase
animals moving south in winter
To travel to the south during winter, usually said about birds and other animals.
Examples
- Many bird species migrate south for the winter to find food.
- As temperatures drop, the geese migrate south for the winter.
- Not all birds migrate south for the winter; some stay all year.
migrate to the cloud
1/mˈaɪɡɹˌeɪt tə ðə klˈaʊd/
fixed phrase
technical
move IT systems to cloud services
To move programs, data, or systems from your own computers to cloud services on the internet.
Examples
- Many small businesses are planning to migrate to the cloud to reduce IT costs.
- The company migrated its entire CRM system to the cloud in six months.
- Before you migrate to the cloud, you need a clear backup and security plan.