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Definition of expatriate noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

expatriate

noun
 
/ˌeksˈpætriət/
 
/ˌeksˈpeɪtriət/
(also informal expat
 
/ˈekspæt/
 
/ˈekspæt/
)
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  1. a person living in a country that is not their own
    • American expatriates in Paris
    • My family lived as expatriates in Hong Kong before I was born.
    Synonyms immigrantimmigrantmigrant ▪ refugee ▪ asylum seeker ▪ expatriateThese words all describe people who have moved to a different country. immigrant a person who has either chosen or been forced to leave their country and come to live permanently in a different country:
    • immigrants from other European countries
    migrant a person who moves from one place to another in order to find work or better living conditions:
    • The country has a large seasonal migrant population.
    refugee a person who has been forced to leave their country or home, because there is a war or for political, religious or social reasons:
    • There has been a steady flow of refugees from the war zone.
    asylum seeker a person who has been forced to leave their own country because they are in danger and who arrives in another country asking to be allowed to stay there:
    • to provide accommodation and support for asylum seekers
    expatriate a person living in a country that is not their own, usually by choice:
    • American expatriates in Paris
     immigrant, migrant, refugee or asylum seeker?An immigrant has either chosen or been forced to leave their own country and move to another. A refugee has been forced to leave their own country. An asylum seeker has been forced to leave their own country and has arrived in another country asking to be allowed to stay. A migrant moves to another country, or within their own country, especially to find work or better living conditions. Patterns
    • economic/skilled migrants
    • illegal/undocumented immigrants/​migrants
    • political refugees
    Word Originmid 18th cent. (as a verb): from medieval Latin expatriat- ‘gone out from one's country’, from the verb expatriare, from ex- ‘out’ + patria ‘native country’.
See expatriate in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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trait
noun
 
 
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