irrigate
verb
ir·ri·gate
ˈir-ə-ˌgāt 
irrigated; irrigating
1
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
The Benicia (California) HeraldExamples 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
Just 110 square meters of mesh could supply enough water to irrigate a city’s green spaces for a year.
—Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr. 2025
Owners Gary and Linda Brauns experimented with irrigating the fields in 2012 (which had struggled to thrive previously), and by springtime that year, about 80 of the vines were back.
—Alessandra Amodio, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2025
These efforts included irrigating the grounds and sealing the building to keep out smoke.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2025
Federal water irrigates most of the San Joaquin Valley and has double the capacity of the state.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irrigate
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Troy Aidan Sambajon, Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr. 2025
Owners Gary and Linda Brauns experimented with irrigating the fields in 2012 (which had struggled to thrive previously), and by springtime that year, about 80 of the vines were back.
—Alessandra Amodio, Travel + Leisure, 2 Mar. 2025
These efforts included irrigating the grounds and sealing the building to keep out smoke.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 Jan. 2025
Federal water irrigates most of the San Joaquin Valley and has double the capacity of the state.
—Lia Russell, Sacbee.com, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for irrigate
Cite this Entry
“Irrigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irrigate. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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