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

After setting up movable micro-emitters for irrigation, they planted native species that fit the site, soil and climate, focusing on their role in supporting a diverse ecosystem.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

The shallow furrows fail to stir emotion and are about as exciting as the irrigation channels they bring to mind.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 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

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

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026

It is, of course, not only the groundwaters that are becoming contaminated, but surface-moving waters as well — streams, rivers, irrigation waters.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson