as in to rinse
to pour liquid over or through in order to cleanse
if you get the chemical in your eye, irrigate the eye thoroughly with water
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Recent Examples of irrigate
The Amu Darya was a primary source of water for the Aral Sea, which has largely dried up due to the diversion of its two main rivers (the Amu Darya and Syr Darya) to irrigate Soviet-era cotton fields.
—
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Whatever irrigates the imagination and allows the soul to exhale.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Beyond the broad concrete steps that traverse the water-friendly (and automatically irrigated) xeriscaped front yard and through the lime-green door that animates the charcoal exterior cladding hides a small courtyard open to the sky, a classic feature in an Eichler home.
—Mark David, Robb Report, 29 Aug. 2025
If soils have been dry or inadequately irrigated, consider harvesting nearly ripe fruit before rainstorm events to avoid cracking.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irrigate
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2025
Whatever irrigates the imagination and allows the soul to exhale.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Beyond the broad concrete steps that traverse the water-friendly (and automatically irrigated) xeriscaped front yard and through the lime-green door that animates the charcoal exterior cladding hides a small courtyard open to the sky, a classic feature in an Eichler home.
—Mark David, Robb Report, 29 Aug. 2025
If soils have been dry or inadequately irrigated, consider harvesting nearly ripe fruit before rainstorm events to avoid cracking.
—Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irrigate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrigate
Verb
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Always let your pan cool slightly before rinsing.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
6 Oct. 2025
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Let this mixture sit for a while before rinsing it with hot water.—
Halee Miller Van Ryswyk,
Better Homes & Gardens,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Inspectors gave the Sacramento coffee shop a yellow placard after watching an employee skip the sanitizer step when washing a tray of cups and forks.—
Sarah Linn,
Sacbee.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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Remove screens to spray down with your garden hose and wash and squeegee the exterior glass.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler remembered Hinch’s texts — and those from other players who began responding — as a helpful step in flushing all that had gone wrong over several weeks.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
1 Oct. 2025
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Small things, like individual eyelashes or grains of sand, often get flushed out on their own through a combination of tearing up and blinking, per Mount Sinai.—
Hannah Yasharoff,
USA Today,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Irrigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrigate. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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