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 Oregon Water Resources Department said the drawdowns already happening under the court injunction have not undermined anyone’s ability to irrigate with water from the Willamette and its tributaries. —Tony Schick, ProPublica, 31 Oct. 2023

Figure out how often to irrigate using my Irrigation Canary Test. —Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2023

The annual recharge from Lebow’s basin roughly balances the water needed to irrigate his land. —Erica Gies, Scientific American, 25 Oct. 2023

Across town, in a field that has not been irrigated, the plants are thinner and have fewer vines, with barely any leaves toward the bottom of their stalks. —Catie Edmondson, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023

The house sits higher than the farmland, so water collected from the roof and ponds all drains down to irrigate the farm land. —Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2023

In addition to shielding riparian communities from flooding and aiding food security by irrigating surrounding farmland, dams can provide fossil-fuel-free electricity to populations that need access. —IEEE Spectrum, 1 Sep. 2023

And parts of the vast Ogallala Aquifer beneath Kansas, eastern Colorado and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, an aquifer that irrigates a huge share of the global food supply, last year reached their lowest levels since the start of NASA’s program. —Mira Rojanasakul, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023

The resort’s low-impact approach extends beyond the villas: the resort runs entirely on solar energy, all food waste is composted, and the wastewater is treated and used to irrigate the grounds. —John Bowe, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2023

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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