irrigate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to supply (land) with water by artificial means, as by diverting streams, flooding, or spraying.
-
Medicine/Medical. to supply or wash (an orifice, wound, etc.) with a spray or a flow of some liquid.
-
to moisten; wet.
verb
-
to supply (land) with water by means of artificial canals, ditches, etc, esp to promote the growth of food crops
-
med to bathe or wash out a bodily part, cavity, or wound
-
(tr) to make fertile, fresh, or vital by or as if by watering
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
irrigationnoun
-
irrigatornoun
-
overirrigateverb (used with object)
-
reirrigateverb (used with object)
-
irrigableadjective
-
irrigationaladjective
-
nonirrigatedadjective
-
nonirrigatingadjective
-
unirrigatedadjective
-
well-irrigatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
irrigatesimple
-
irrigatessimple
-
have irrigatedperfect
-
has irrigatedperfect
-
am irrigatingprogressive
-
are irrigatingprogressive
-
is irrigatingprogressive
-
have been irrigatingperfect progressive
-
has been irrigatingperfect progressive
Past
-
irrigatedsimple
-
had irrigatedperfect
-
was irrigatingprogressive
-
were irrigatingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Chapter 1: The First Americans
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 1: Ecological Systems
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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
Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi River, but it was drained to irrigate crops, and has reappeared only occasionally when floodwaters return.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
Winemakers in Argentina's wine capital rely on fresh water from the Andes mountains to irrigate their crops.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
Its eyes and spine would irrigate a desert.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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
It also irrigates California’s powerful agriculture industry while providing drinking water to 25 million people.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 14, 2023
The Ganges canal was opened by Lord Dalhousie in 1854, and irrigates 978,000 acres.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various
Janssen explained that 200 units of nitrogen are used per acre of irrigated corn.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 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
Las Vegas lives on tourism, the industry irrigated by rivers of disposable income.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 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
Early rice agriculture in Korea used dry-field methods rather than irrigated paddies and was not particularly productive.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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
When that saved water is pumped from wells, it flows via canals and pipes to the fields of about 120 growers, irrigating onions, peaches, almonds, pistachios, potatoes, tomatoes and other crops.
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
He had to start irrigating his fields in March.
From BBC ● May 14, 2025
“Mostly who he talked about, as I understand it,” said Ray Gusdorf, “was Charley Bloom. And of course you, Joe. He said irrigating that beanfield was your idea and his.”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
