as in rinses
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 irrigates
Today, water from the massive lake, fed by the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, irrigates farms across the Central Valley and provides drinking water for Silicon Valley, including San Jose.
—
Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
If there’s a long delay before the next rain, run your irrigation once every two weeks or once a month, depending on the types of plants each zone irrigates.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2025
Water from the Central Valley Project irrigates roughly one-third of California agriculture, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
—CBS News, 6 Dec. 2025
The river also irrigates more than 850,000 acres of farmland — the highest concentration of irrigated acres of any river basin in Colorado.
—Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 15 Oct. 2025
The canal irrigates more than 108 square miles, the district said.
—Idaho Statesman, 14 Oct. 2025
Whatever irrigates the imagination and allows the soul to exhale.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 23 Jan. 2026
If there’s a long delay before the next rain, run your irrigation once every two weeks or once a month, depending on the types of plants each zone irrigates.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Dec. 2025
Water from the Central Valley Project irrigates roughly one-third of California agriculture, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.
—CBS News, 6 Dec. 2025
The river also irrigates more than 850,000 acres of farmland — the highest concentration of irrigated acres of any river basin in Colorado.
—Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 15 Oct. 2025
The canal irrigates more than 108 square miles, the district said.
—Idaho Statesman, 14 Oct. 2025
Whatever irrigates the imagination and allows the soul to exhale.
—James Parker, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrigates
Verb
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The pH-balanced formula effectively lifts away makeup, bacteria, and daily buildup, then rinses off easily without leaving residue behind.—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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As laundry expert Bree Uebergang explains, the key variations in the two cycles mainly comes down to the amount of agitation involved as the machine washes your items.—
Ashley Chalmers,
The Spruce,
30 Jan. 2026
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My one gripe with trench coats is that the tawny beige shade washes me out.—
Kaitlin Clapinski,
InStyle,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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By breaking the bond, the residue flushes away more easily in the rinse cycle.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
9 Feb. 2026
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For starters, reds, berries, terracottas, hot pinks, and warm corals that echo how melanin-rich skin naturally flushes.—
Jailynn Taylor,
Allure,
26 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The title floods the screen, in lavishly flowing script, a whopping 49 minutes into this 108-minute neo-noir, not far off the halfway mark.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
5 Feb. 2026
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Those missions are especially timely, given Chicago's unhoused population floods the system for shelter for a place to stay warm when temperatures plummet.—
Tara Molina,
CBS News,
22 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irrigates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrigates. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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