as in rinsing
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 irrigating
Under the agreement, Riverview will stop irrigating 2,000 acres of crops in phases within 12 years.
—
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
As images reach us in fragments, sound weaves a continuity from off-screen to on-screen, carrying the emotion through the film and irrigating the streams of images, like water flowing.
—Cátia Rodrigues, Variety, 16 Aug. 2025
Thirsty data That Lake Mead’s worth of water that has disappeared from beneath the lower Colorado basin has gone largely to irrigating alfalfa and other food for cows, much of which is exported.
—Mark Gongloff, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
That Lake Mead’s worth of water that has disappeared from beneath the lower Colorado basin has gone largely to irrigating alfalfa and other food for cows, much of which is exported.
—Mark Gongloff, Denver Post, 12 Aug. 2025
It’s been around since people have existed and has been used for cultural practices, capturing drinking water and irrigating crops.
—La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026
As images reach us in fragments, sound weaves a continuity from off-screen to on-screen, carrying the emotion through the film and irrigating the streams of images, like water flowing.
—Cátia Rodrigues, Variety, 16 Aug. 2025
Thirsty data That Lake Mead’s worth of water that has disappeared from beneath the lower Colorado basin has gone largely to irrigating alfalfa and other food for cows, much of which is exported.
—Mark Gongloff, Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2025
That Lake Mead’s worth of water that has disappeared from beneath the lower Colorado basin has gone largely to irrigating alfalfa and other food for cows, much of which is exported.
—Mark Gongloff, Denver Post, 12 Aug. 2025
It’s been around since people have existed and has been used for cultural practices, capturing drinking water and irrigating crops.
—La Risa R. Lynch, jsonline.com, 6 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrigating
Verb
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The best way to prevent them is to always dry your sink after rinsing it.—
Daley Quinn,
Southern Living,
6 Nov. 2025
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If their numbers are small, rinsing your daylilies with a strong blast of water from your garden hose is often sufficient to get rid of them.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Scrub with a toilet brush, then wait six minutes before flushing again.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Jan. 2026
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Liberation movements were like chemotherapy, flushing our systems to reboot their chemistry at the cellular level.—
Syda Segovia Taylor,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The checklist for cleaning the kitchen was probably just washing dirty dishes, wiping down countertops, and mopping the floors.—
Elizabeth Brownfield,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
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Maintain good foot hygiene by washing feet at least daily.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
The Spruce,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Irrigating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrigating. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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