Definition of expat
chiefly British
as in refugee
a person forced to emigrate for political reasons a network of expats in London keeps her from missing the family she left behind

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of expat Diluting the term for expats not only hurts them, but also does a disservice to both the concepts of culture fatigue and culture whiplash. Liz Guthridge, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026 My table includes a young mother with an Ivy League law degree, a political consultant from the Carolinas, an expat Moroccan businessman, a creative from a famed Spanish fashion house, and a jewelry dealer from the American Northeast. Justin Fenner, Robb Report, 15 Aug. 2026 This micro-boutique property is designed and run by an expat couple from Taiwan and Australia who met in Sri Lanka a decade ago. Katie Lockhart, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2026 The new-expat couple had been living out of a five-star hotel-apartment space at a Radisson hotel in Dubai. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 11 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for expat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expat
refugee
Noun
  • The fatal stabbing of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a light rail in Charlotte’s trendy South End neighborhood, just south of uptown, thrust the city into the national spotlight last August.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The 12 refugee seats, critics argue, are not simply a constitutional problem but an additional lever through which politically loyal candidates can be brought into the assembly.
    Aqil Shah, Time, 17 Aug. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Expat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expat. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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