irrigation

American  

[ir-i-gey-shuhn] / ˌɪr ɪˈgeɪ ʃən /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

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

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

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

Instead, the results provide a clearer picture of how plants distribute chemical compounds that enter through irrigation water.

From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2026

Jed Fowler, the chairman of irrigation company HD Fowler, stepped down as chairman after his testimony in favor of the income tax created an uproar.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

"What will they do when the irrigation is complete?"

From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin