irrigate

American  

[ir-i-geyt] / ˈɪr ɪˌgeɪt /

verb (used with object)

• irrigates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• irrigated,
  past participle,  past
• irrigating
  present participle

1. to supply (land) with water by artificial means, as by diverting streams, flooding, or spraying.

2. Medicine/Medical. to supply or wash (an orifice, wound, etc.) with a spray or a flow of some liquid.

3. to moisten; wet.

---

irrigate British  

/ ˈɪrɪˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. to supply (land) with water by means of artificial canals, ditches, etc, esp to promote the growth of food crops

2. med to bathe or wash out a bodily part, cavity, or wound

3. (tr) to make fertile, fresh, or vital by or as if by watering

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• irrigation
  noun
• irrigator
  noun
• overirrigate
  verb (used with object)
• reirrigate
  verb (used with object)
• irrigable
  adjective
• irrigational
  adjective
• nonirrigated
  adjective
• nonirrigating
  adjective
• unirrigated
  adjective
• well-irrigated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• irrigating
  present
• irrigated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• irrigate
  simple
• irrigates
  simple
• have irrigated
  perfect
• has irrigated
  perfect
• am irrigating
  progressive
• are irrigating
  progressive
• is irrigating
  progressive
• have been irrigating
  perfect progressive
• has been irrigating
  perfect progressive

Past

• irrigated
  simple
• had irrigated
  perfect
• was irrigating
  progressive
• were irrigating
  progressive
• had been irrigating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will irrigate
  simple
• will have irrigated
  perfect
• will be irrigating
  progressive
• will have been irrigating
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

irrigate irrigates irrigated irrigating

If he was to irrigate all his crops to keep them alive, the costs would be so high his cauliflowers, spuds and carrots would be far pricier than supermarket alternatives.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

A water source gets contaminated in some way, and that water is then used to irrigate a field.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

Then you’d have to add on the costs to irrigate and maintain the fields.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 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

Uncle Basil told us that the canyon used its own recycled water to irrigate.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

But thousands of men were pouring into Redding to build the dam — a 602-foot concrete behemoth that irrigates millions of acres of Central Valley farmland — and they sure worked up an appetite.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2026

A water system irrigates the plants via a nutrient substrate, a liquid fertiliser that replaces the nutrients and minerals naturally present in the soil.

From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 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

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 Badlam, Anna B.

Janssen explained that 200 units of nitrogen are used per acre of irrigated corn.

From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026

Researchers have calculated that large portions of California’s irrigated cropland will need to be permanently left dry in the coming years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026

The property features three creeks that “meander through the ranch for over five miles,” as well as irrigated meadows and “historic water rights irrigating 1,200 acres.”

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 23, 2025

It has argued that just a 2% reduction in the amount of water it gets from the Nile could result in the loss of 200,000 acres of irrigated land.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2025

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

"Farmers have reported issues with spring crops and have had to start irrigating earlier because of the dry soils," a spokesperson said.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

It's essential to the entire operation here: irrigating young plants, spraying fertilizers and plowing the soil.

From Barron's ● Apr. 11, 2026

The property features three creeks that “meander through the ranch for over five miles,” as well as irrigated meadows and “historic water rights irrigating 1,200 acres.”

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 23, 2025

They also argue the state has been allowing excessively large amounts of water to be pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to supply agriculture, irrigating vast acreages of almonds, rice, tomatoes and other crops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2024

“Ah, it’ll all blow over. Soon as you quit irrigating that useless field everybody will forget about it.”

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Related Words

• inundate
• soak