sprinkler
Americannoun
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sprinklers
plural
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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.
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a person who sprinkles.
verb (used with object)
noun
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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
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a person or thing that sprinkles
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See sprinkler system
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sprinkler
Explanation
A sprinkler is a garden device that sprays water onto your grass or plants. You can attach a small lawn sprinkler to a hose in your yard when your flowers are looking droopy. Sprinklers are mainly used to irrigate, or provide water, to plants. There are complex systems of sprinklers that can be installed in the ground for a large area, like a public park or an estate's acres of lawns. The more common type of sprinkler hooks up to a hose and can be moved wherever it's needed — including in the middle of a yard for kids to run through in their bathing suits.
Vocabulary lists containing sprinkler
"Water at Work"
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1.7.B Using Ice to Keep Orange Groves Warm
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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.
See Examples For:
In retrospect, he says he wishes he had a generator that he could have used to power a sprinkler system around the property after the electricity went out.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
In the southern city of Yangsan, where the mercury hit a historic high of 42.5C on Sunday, fleets of sprinkler trucks have been roaming the streets, spraying water onto sun-baked roads.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Instead, the sprinkler system activates and floods the entire house, turning a contained problem into widespread damage.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026
In reverse mode, water was drawn into the sprinkler.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Guess what we’re having for dinner,” Rita said brightly as they washed their hands at a sprinkler.
From "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm" by Nancy Farmer
When hosepipe bans are in force sports grounds can use hoses or sprinklers - but only to water grass areas "actively used for play".
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Down the road near Chippenham, Godwin's family have gone a step further, installing a network of what they call 'cow showers'- sprinklers that douse the cattle with cool water.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
By building and testing sprinklers with a variety of shapes, a team of mathematicians has now produced a clear experimental answer.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 17, 2026
When he went back three hours later to turn the sprinklers on, the house was already burning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
A tire alarm goes off and the sprinklers switch on, drenching everyone.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
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.
