sprinkler
Americannoun
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any of various devices for sprinkling, as a watering pot, a container of water with a perforated top used to sprinkle clothes before ironing, or especially a perforated ring or small stand with a revolving nozzle to which a hose is attached for watering a lawn with a fine, even spray.
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a person who sprinkles.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a device perforated with small holes that is attached to a garden hose or watering can and used to spray plants, lawns, etc, with water
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a person or thing that sprinkles
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See sprinkler system
Etymology
Origin of sprinkler
Explanation
A sprinkler is a garden device that sprays water onto your grass or plants. You can attach a small lawn sprinkler to a hose in your yard when your flowers are looking droopy. Sprinklers are mainly used to irrigate, or provide water, to plants. There are complex systems of sprinklers that can be installed in the ground for a large area, like a public park or an estate's acres of lawns. The more common type of sprinkler hooks up to a hose and can be moved wherever it's needed — including in the middle of a yard for kids to run through in their bathing suits.
Vocabulary lists containing sprinkler
"Water at Work"
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1.7.B Using Ice to Keep Orange Groves Warm
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After pulling his tee shot towards the trees, Fitzpatrick's ball struck a cart path, ricocheted back on to the green, and was only prevented from trickling into the water by a well-positioned sprinkler head.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
But Ridder has been frustrated by delays in inspections to verify compliance with new building codes, such as requiring a fire sprinkler system in the roof.
From Barron's • Jan. 4, 2026
The International Fire Code in 2018 added a sprinkler requirement for bars and nightclubs with occupancy over 300, but adoption varies across America and Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 4, 2026
They celebrated retaining the Ashes with a sprinkler dance on the MCG outfield.
From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025
The sprinkler sputtered in circles out in the garden, leaving glistening drops of water dripping off the okra and settling into little pools inside the yellow flowers of the cucumber plants.
From "Wish" by Barbara O'Connor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
