IRRIGATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does irrigate mean? 

• IRRIGATE (verb)
  The verb IRRIGATE has 2 senses:

1. supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams

2. supply with a constant flow or sprinkling of some liquid, for the purpose of cooling, cleansing, or disinfecting

  Familiarity information: IRRIGATE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IRRIGATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they irrigate    ... he / she / it irrigates   
Past simple: irrigated   
Past participle: irrigated   
-ing form: irrigating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

irrigate; water

Context example:

Water the fields

Hypernyms (to "irrigate" is one way to...):

wet (cause to become wet)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "irrigate"):

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)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

irrigation (supplying dry land with water by means of ditches etc)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Supply with a constant flow or sprinkling of some liquid, for the purpose of cooling, cleansing, or disinfecting

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Context example:

irrigate the wound

Hypernyms (to "irrigate" is one way to...):

care for; treat (provide treatment for)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

irrigation ((medicine) cleaning a wound or body organ by flushing or washing out with water or a medicated solution)

 Context examples 

Only land downhill from the aqueduct is irrigated; water is not pumped uphill.

(NASA Map Reveals a New Landslide Risk Factor, NASA)

Trees played a critical role in stopping the slides, and the researchers suggest that planting more trees - perhaps interspersed with rice fields - in areas that are intensively irrigated might reduce the risk of soil liquefaction.

(NASA Map Reveals a New Landslide Risk Factor, NASA)