irrigate
Americanverb (used with object)
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irrigates,
present (3rd person singular)
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irrigated,
past participle, past
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irrigating
present participle
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to supply (land) with water by artificial means, as by diverting streams, flooding, or spraying.
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Medicine/Medical. to supply or wash (an orifice, wound, etc.) with a spray or a flow of some liquid.
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to moisten; wet.
verb
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to supply (land) with water by means of artificial canals, ditches, etc, esp to promote the growth of food crops
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med to bathe or wash out a bodily part, cavity, or wound
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(tr) to make fertile, fresh, or vital by or as if by watering
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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irrigationnoun
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irrigatornoun
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overirrigateverb (used with object)
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reirrigateverb (used with object)
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irrigableadjective
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irrigationaladjective
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nonirrigatedadjective
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nonirrigatingadjective
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unirrigatedadjective
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well-irrigatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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irrigatesimple
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irrigatessimple
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have irrigatedperfect
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has irrigatedperfect
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am irrigatingprogressive
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are irrigatingprogressive
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is irrigatingprogressive
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have been irrigatingperfect progressive
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has been irrigatingperfect progressive
Past
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irrigatedsimple
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had irrigatedperfect
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was irrigatingprogressive
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were irrigatingprogressive
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had been irrigatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of irrigate
1605–15; < Latin irrigātus, past participle of irrigāre to wet, flood, nourish with water, equivalent to ir- ir- 1 + rigā- (stem of rigāre to provide with water, soak) + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
To irrigate is to supply with water, usually with ditches and channels that allow the water to flow. Irrigating is a type of watering that is important in one field in particular: farming. If a farmer has a huge number of crops, you can see how getting water to them could be difficult. The farmer irrigates by digging little channels that allow hard-to-reach spots to receive water. If there is a drought, irrigating will have to happen often to save the crops. People with large gardens might need to irrigate as well. Irrigating waters plants, keeping them alive.
Vocabulary lists containing irrigate
Civilizations and Peoples of the Fertile Crescent, Lessons 1–2
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Chapter 1: The First Americans
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Unit 1: Ecological Systems
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A water source gets contaminated in some way, and that water is then used to irrigate a field.
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
One of the two canals that irrigate it has been shut because the seawater would enter and damage the crops.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
Built to provide electricity for the southwestern United States and to irrigate Nevada, it was the great cause of Herbert Hoover.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Much of the water released from the dam goes to irrigate crops including almonds, pistachios, oranges, grapes and tomatoes.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
“I’m behind Jose. I’ll help you irrigate that field, Jose.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
"Discharges seep into the water, flow into the nearby river that irrigates farmland, and end up in the fruit and vegetables on our plates."
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
Nearby, water pumped from the Ogallala Aquifer irrigates fields of peanuts and cotton.
From Salon ● May 7, 2024
And because most pumped groundwater irrigates crops, major declines in availability could lead to a global food crisis.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 25, 2023
It also irrigates California’s powerful agriculture industry while providing drinking water to 25 million people.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
So plentiful is the supply that it not only irrigates the flourishing gardens but runs in streams through the streets.
From The World and Its People: Book VII Views in Africa by Anna B. Badlam
More than half of the Colorado River’s water is used for irrigated agriculture, and in recent years the federal government has been effectively subsidizing farmers to leave their water unused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
For golf courses this means the greens and tees can be irrigated but the fairways cannot.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Janssen explained that 200 units of nitrogen are used per acre of irrigated corn.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
Neat rows of collard greens and kale stretch across irrigated beds, while orchards of peach trees — the ranch’s signature fruit — appear throughout the property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
Even today, the contrast is startling between the desert and the irrigated land, with its lush patchwork of maize, sugar, and fruit trees.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Italy’s longest river, the Po, is essential for irrigating farmland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Christine Devin, who arrived in 1974 after travelling overland on the hippie trail from Paris, remembers digging wells, irrigating the land and everyone pitching in to build houses and communal buildings like the solar kitchen.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
Under the agreement, Riverview will stop irrigating 2,000 acres of crops in phases within 12 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2026
He had to start irrigating his fields in March.
From BBC ● May 14, 2025
“Are you or are you not going to stop irrigating that field?” he asked.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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