Meaning & use
irrigate
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To supply land or crops with water by using channels, pipes or sprinklers.
Grammar: Takes an object such as fields or crops: farmers irrigate their land.
Patterns
- irrigate something
- irrigate something with something
Farmers irrigate the fields during the dry months.
The canal was built to irrigate nearby orchards.
They irrigated the crops with water from the river.
verbtransitivemedicaltechnical
To wash out a wound or body cavity with a flow of liquid.
Grammar: Takes an object, usually a wound or part of the body: irrigate the wound.
Patterns
- irrigate a wound
- irrigate something with something
The nurse irrigated the wound with saline.
The dentist irrigated the gum to remove debris.
Doctors irrigate the eye after a chemical splash.
Word forms
| third person singular | irrigates |
|---|---|
| past tense | irrigated |
| past participle | irrigated |
| -ing form | irrigating |
Common combinations
- irrigate crops
- They irrigate crops with drip lines.
- irrigate the land
- Canals irrigate the land.
- irrigate a wound
- The nurse irrigated the wound.
- irrigate fields
- Farmers irrigate fields in summer.
- irrigate with water
- The orchard is irrigated with river water.
Synonyms and how they differ
- water
- Water is the everyday word and may mean a small act like watering a plant, but irrigate suggests a planned system.
- flood
- Flood means covering with too much water, but irrigate means supplying the right amount.
- sprinkle
- Sprinkle is about scattering drops and is smaller in scale than irrigate.
- flush
- Flush applies to cleaning, such as wounds or pipes, and fits only the medical sense of irrigate.
Opposites
Word family
- irrigation noun
- the supply of water to land
- irrigated adjective
- supplied with water
- irrigator noun
- a device or person that irrigates
- irrigable adjective
- able to be irrigated
Commonly confused: irrigate or irritate?
irrigate vs irritate
Irritate means to annoy or make sore, while irrigate means to supply water; the words look similar but are unrelated.
Practice
In dry regions, farmers often dig channels to ___ their crops.
Choose one answer.
Irrigate means to supply water. Irritate, imitate and investigate look similar but mean annoy, copy and examine.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “irrigate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.