evapotranspiration

noun evapo·trans·pi·ra·tion \ i-ˈva-pō-ˌtran(t)-spə-ˈrā-shən \

Definition of evapotranspiration

: loss of water from the soil both by evaporation and by transpiration from the plants growing thereon

Recent Examples of evapotranspiration from the Web

Current standards for measuring water stress fall primarily into evapotranspiration models and soil moisture sensing.

— nathan hurst, Smithsonian, "This Snap-On Sensor Could Tell Farmers Exactly How Much To Water Their Crops," 27 Sep. 2017
Trees promote cooling by providing shade to streets and buildings and through a process called evapotranspiration, which disperses moisture in the atmosphere.

— eoin o'carroll, The Christian Science Monitor, "Cities turn to trees to beat the heat," 25 July 2017
For example, the most advanced irrigation systems receive signals from local weather stations calculating evapotranspiration (the amount of water lost to the atmosphere) by monitoring temperature, solar radiation, humidity and wind velocity.

— National Geographic, "Navigating the Water Crisis," 21 Mar. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'evapotranspiration.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.