irrigate

/ˈɪrɪgeɪt/

/ˈɪrɪgeɪt/

Other forms: irrigated; irrigating; irrigates

To irrigate is to supply with water, usually with ditches and channels that allow the water to flow.

Irrigating is a type of watering that is important in one field in particular: farming. If a farmer has a huge number of crops, you can see how getting water to them could be difficult. The farmer irrigates by digging little channels that allow hard-to-reach spots to receive water. If there is a drought, irrigating will have to happen often to save the crops. People with large gardens might need to irrigate as well. Irrigating waters plants, keeping them alive.

Definitions of irrigate

1. verb

   supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams
   synonyms: water

   types:

   hose, hose down

   water with a hose

   flush

   cause to flow or flood with or as if with water

   hush

   run water over the ground to erode (soil), revealing the underlying strata and valuable minerals

   perfuse, suffuse

   cause to spread or flush or flood through, over, or across

   perfuse

   force a fluid through (a body part or tissue)

   type of:

   wet

   cause to become wet
2. verb

   supply with a constant flow or sprinkling of some liquid, for the purpose of cooling, cleansing, or disinfecting
   “irrigate the wound”

   type of:

   care for, treat

   provide treatment for