sprinkler

[ spring-kler ]

/ ˈsprɪŋ klər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sprinkler ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of various devices for sprinkling, as a watering pot, a container of water with a perforated top used to sprinkle clothes before ironing, or especially a perforated ring or small stand with a revolving nozzle to which a hose is attached for watering a lawn with a fine, even spray.

a person who sprinkles.

verb (used with object)

to provide (a warehouse, school, office building, etc.) with a sprinkler system.

Nearby words

Origin of sprinkler

First recorded in 1525–35; sprinkle + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sprinkler

He cites stricter compliance for things such as sprinkler systems.
Why Are Girl Scout Camps Being Closed?|Alessandra Rafferty|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The sprinklers are set off, so, naturally, Ghost Shark arrives through the sprinkler water and eats the museum keeper.
The Craziest Moments From ‘Ghost Shark’ (VIDEO)|Kevin Fallon|August 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
My dad was a sprinkler fitter and he was in the union, so we moved around every three years for his job.
Punk Rock-Feminist Pioneer Kathleen Hanna on Her SXSW Doc and More|Marlow Stern|March 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Once four of us were told we had an hour to nap, but we had to do it under a sprinkler.
Inside Seal Team Six by Don Mann Excerpt|Don Mann|December 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Before those flames reached the sprinkler directly above their table, I rushed over with a cotton napkin to put out the fire.
Confessions of Charlie Sheen's Bartender|Robert Schwartz|February 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The annexed engravings represent the sprinkler at exact size for one-half inch connection.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 363, December 16, 1882|Various
Sawdust-packed thermite grenades were stacked right up to the perforated pipes of the sprinkler system.
The Great Potlatch Riots|Allen Kim Lang
This machinery is to include more powerful tractors and grain combines, milking machines, and sprinkler irrigation systems.
Area Handbook for Bulgaria|Eugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole
However, the sprinkler is a very good thing, though it is not put in excepting where the hose attachment is also supplied.
Convenient Houses|Louis Henry Gibson
You get that impression simply because the judge howled like an Algonquin Indian when he saw the sprinkler running on the lawn.
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town|Stephen Leacock

British Dictionary definitions for sprinkler

sprinkler

/ (ˈsprɪŋklə) /

noun

a device perforated with small holes that is attached to a garden hose or watering can and used to spray plants, lawns, etc, with water

a person or thing that sprinkles

See sprinkler system

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sprinkler

sprinkler

1530s, agent noun from sprinkle (v.).

sprinkler

noun

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of sprinkler

Examples from the Web for sprinkler

sprinkler

noun

sprinkler