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

Example Sentences

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

"Input costs have gone up, pesticides, labour, irrigation. But yields have gone down. Farmers are spending more money but earning less from mango orchards," he adds.

From BBC

Replanting and repairing the damage without gasoline for tractors or electricity for irrigation is nearly impossible.

From Salon

As of December, its dams were only around 30 percent full on average, and farmers have largely relied on rainwater for irrigation.

From Barron's

Those standards were not deemed high enough for the World Cup, and NFL stadiums are installing expensive irrigation and ventilation systems that will allow grass to bed in for several weeks before the tournament.

From Barron's