irrigation
Americannoun
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the artificial application of water to land to assist in the production of crops.
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Medicine/Medical. the flushing or washing out of anything with water or other liquid.
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the state of being irrigated.
Discover More
Irrigation accounts for the greatest part of water usage in the western United States.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of irrigation
First recorded in 1605–15, irrigation is from the Latin word irrigātiōn- (stem of irrigātiō ). See irrigate, -ion
Explanation
Irrigation is the watering of land to make it ready for agriculture. If you want to start a strawberry farm in the desert, irrigation will be necessary. Irrigation comes from the Latin for "moist" or "wet," but it means the purposeful wetting of something. We wouldn’t really say that a storm provides irrigation (unless we were poetically trying to personify the storm). Irrigation systems are often complex combinations of canals, channels, and hoses. The word irrigation is also used in medicine to describe the process of washing out a wound before dressing it.
Vocabulary lists containing irrigation
Dirty Words: The Language of Gardening
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Down on the Farm
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The United States
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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.
"Irrigation was stopped because the reservoir levels were low," he said.
From Barron's • May 8, 2026
Irrigation systems go dry, planting is delayed or scaled back and harvests are lost.
From Salon • Apr. 11, 2026
Jain Irrigation Systems is a large agricultural technology company.
From BBC • Jul. 17, 2025
Farmers and managers of agricultural water agencies, such as California’s Imperial Irrigation District, have taken part in water-saving programs.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2025
Dirt had to be trucked in whenever Raincreek Irrigation and Landscaping planted anything.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
