irrigation

American  

[ir-i-gey-shuhn] / ˌɪr ɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

irrigations plural

1. the artificial application of water to land to assist in the production of crops.

2. Medicine/Medical. the flushing or washing out of anything with water or other liquid.

3. the state of being irrigated.

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irrigation Cultural  

1. Artificial provision of water to sustain growing plants.

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Discover More

Irrigation accounts for the greatest part of water usage in the western United States.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonirrigation
  noun
• overirrigation
  noun
• preirrigation
  noun
• reirrigation
  noun
• irrigational
  adjective
• preirrigational
  adjective
• proirrigation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• irrigations
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

irrigation irrigations

In many outbreaks, contaminated water used for irrigation or agricultural sprays has been identified as a likely source, he added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

There are several variables when it comes to up-front and ongoing costs of using grass, especially in domed stadiums where permanent ultraviolet grow-light systems, drainage and irrigation would need to be installed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Salt buildup in farmland is becoming an increasingly serious problem because of climate change, irrigation practices, and rising sea levels.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 29, 2026

In June 2025, conservationists used special irrigation equipment to water the tree's roots in a bid to protect it from soaring temperatures.

From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026

The biggest political units could assemble large labor forces to construct irrigation systems and fishponds that intensified food production even further.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

"I can go online and see what irrigations are needed down in Santa Barbara, 300 miles away," says Mr Maraden, who is based in Napa, north west of San Francisco.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2024

This is where nasal irrigations can be so helpful.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 28, 2022

“If you took all the people who say they have chronic sinusitis in the world, and you put them all on nasal saline irrigations, a big proportion would not have any symptoms anymore,” he said.

From New York Times ● May 12, 2011

Using satellite imagery between 1998 and 2002, Beman and colleagues discovered algae blooms up to 220 square miles large that followed just days after the periodic irrigations in the valley.

From Washington Post

I want some good crop to plant in the checks and give two good irrigations.

From One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered by Wickson, Edward J. (Edward James)