as in to rinse
to pour liquid over or through in order to cleanse if you get the chemical in your eye, irrigate the eye thoroughly with water

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of irrigate In addition to water that irrigated the crops, water supply was raised from the Nile and its waterways by means of the shaduf, a levering device with a long pole, until after the pharaonic period when the Persian Wheel or saqia arrived, typically turned by a pair of oxen. Vanessa Taylor, Big Think, 25 Sep. 2025 After overseeding, irrigate 3 to 4 times a day for the first 7 to 10 days or until the seed germinates. Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 15 Sep. 2025 So the creekbed was designed to move the water across the front yard and guide it down to the street; any residual water can irrigate the plants. Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Sep. 2025 Whatever irrigates the imagination and allows the soul to exhale. James Parker, The Atlantic, 2 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for irrigate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for irrigate
Verb
  • Some filters can be rinsed under running water.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Afterward, scrub the glass gently and rinse well with hot water.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The tables were empty and the bar deserted, the only sign of life the clank and swish of dishes being washed in the back, through the swinging double doors.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Hands and surfaces should be washed after preparing raw meat.
    Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Which, Polsky discovers, hasn’t been properly flushed by whoever used it previously.
    Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Photos Snow shared with SFGATE show the difference between the color of the water after it had been flushed—with the first water collected clearly brown in color, and the flushed water looking a more normal color.
    Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Irrigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/irrigate. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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