irrigate
verb
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Definition of irrigate
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
: to practice irrigation A tensiometer (soil moisture probe), available at any garden center, helps take the guesswork out of irrigating. —The Benicia (California) Herald
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Other words from irrigate
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noun
Examples of irrigate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Farming on a large scale in California involves a caste system: Off-site landowners hire Mexican families to irrigate, fumigate, pick, and prune to generate profits. — Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, "The Couple Who Turned a California Desert Into a Multi-Billion Dollar Snack Empire," 6 Feb. 2018 Farmers who have been irrigating too much will indeed see savings. — Nicole Miller-coleman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "As attention on Vinduino grows, so does its market," 7 July 2018 Citing high temperatures and insufficient rains, Dhafer Abdalla, an adviser to Iraq's Ministry of Water Resources, told The Associated Press that the country has only enough water to irrigate half its farmland this summer. — Philip Issa, Fox News, "Iraq bans farming summer crops as water crisis grows dire," 5 July 2018 Citing high temperatures and insufficient rains, Dhafer Abdalla, an adviser to Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources, told The Associated Press that the country has only enough water to irrigate half its farmland this summer. — Washington Post, "Iraq bans farming summer crops as water crisis grows dire," 5 July 2018 These canals are specifically designed to help catch water and irrigate the crops, Michael Doyle, Ph.D., regents professor of food microbiology at the University of Georgia’s Center for Food Safety, tells SELF. — Korin Miller, SELF, "Officials Think They’ve Finally Found the Source of the Romaine Lettuce E. Coli Outbreak," 2 July 2018 The land is originally desert, but the first owner irrigates it and soon the desert blooms. — Zoe Greenberg, New York Times, "In the Colorado Desert, a Debut Novelist Finds a Metaphor for Israel and Palestine," 25 May 2018 After you plant and irrigate (see below), mulch with a thick layer of organic matter. — Nan Sterman, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Branching out with new crops," 31 May 2018 Chaves said his vote will be based on the billions of dollars in investment to irrigate local farms with waters from the transfer of the Sao Francisco River. — Mauricio Savarese, Fox News, "With Brazil's da Silva in jail, his region's vote in doubt," 29 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'irrigate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for irrigate
irrigate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of irrigate
: to supply (something, such as land) with water by using artificial means (such as pipes)
medical : to clean (a wound or a part of the body) with flowing liquid (such as water)
See the full definition for irrigate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
irrigate
verb
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Kids Definition of irrigate
1 : to supply (as land) with water by artificial means irrigate crops
2 : to clean with a flow of liquid irrigate a wound
irrigate
transitive verb
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Medical Definition of irrigate
: 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
Other words from irrigate
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noun
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