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
Derived 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.
A dense population, extensive irrigation, abundant moisture and large numbers of outdoor workers combine to create conditions in which even routine labour can become risky.
From BBC • Jun. 1, 2026
In Nazlet Al-Shobak, irrigation pumps sit idle for hours to conserve fuel.
From Barron's • May 15, 2026
The six-bedroom, 6.5-bathroom home was built in 2022 and sits on a private, acre-plus lot with full-yard irrigation and large trees.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026
Keeping that water cold enough for salmon puts limits on how much water federal managers can deliver from Lake Shasta — a vital irrigation supply for Central Valley farmers.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026
Just as water evaporating in a glass leaves behind a film of salts and minerals, water evaporating from irrigation channels leaves deposits in the soil.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
