irrigate

verb

ir·​ri·​gate ˈir-ə-ˌgāt 

irrigated; irrigating

transitive verb

1

: wet, moisten: such as

a

: to supply (land, crops, etc.) with water by artificial means

irrigating the cotton plants

irrigates 20 acres of farmland

b

: to flush (a body part) with a stream of liquid

irrigate the wound with saline solution

the eye was irrigated following chemical exposure

2

: to refresh as if by watering

intransitive verb

: to practice irrigation

A tensiometer (soil moisture probe), available at any garden center, helps take the guesswork out of irrigating.

—The Benicia (California) Herald

irrigator

ˈir-ə-ˌgā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• flush
• rinse
• sluice
• wash
• wash out

Examples of irrigate in a Sentence

The surgeon irrigated the wound.

if you get the chemical in your eye, irrigate the eye thoroughly with water

Recent Examples on the Web

The island is irrigated, solar-powered and walled in native pink granite, and includes 2 acres of shellfish beds, a big lawn, trees and a dock; the mainland is seven minutes by regular ferry. —The Week Staff, theweek, 4 June 2024

For a country that depends on these famed waterways to irrigate over 80 percent of its agriculture, the additional woes have pushed Iraqi farmers to the brink. —Peter Schwartzstein, Foreign Affairs, 7 Apr. 2017

The Cuyama Valley north of Santa Barbara is one of the areas of California where groundwater levels have been rapidly dropping, and where water continues to be heavily pumped to irrigate thousands of acres of farmland. —Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 3 July 2024

Photograph by Adam Ferguson for TIME The evidence, however, is already apparent: microplastics found in the flesh of almost every marine species tested; certain plastic chemicals identified in drinking water; others in the leaves of plants irrigated by polluted streams. —By Aryn Baker/lautoka, Fiji , TIME, 3 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin irrigatus, past participle of irrigare, from in- + rigare to water; perhaps akin to Old High German regan rain — more at rain

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

irrigate

verb

ir·​ri·​gate ˈir-ə-ˌgāt 

irrigated; irrigating

1

: to supply with water by artificial means

irrigate a field

irrigate crops

2

: to flush with a liquid

irrigate a wound

Medical Definition

irrigate

transitive verb

ir·​ri·​gate ˈir-ə-ˌgāt 

irrigated; irrigating

: to flush (a body part) with a stream of liquid

irrigate the wound with saline to remove debris

the eye was irrigated for 10 minutes following chemical exposure

irrigation

ˌir-ə-ˈgā-shən 

noun