verb
Freq #35819
Meanings
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1
verb
to supply land or crops with water through channels, pipes, or sprinklers
Farmers use canals to irrigate the fields during the dry season.
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2
verb
medical: to wash a wound or body cavity with a controlled flow of liquid
The nurse used sterile saline to irrigate the wound.
Thesaurus
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin irrigare 'to water', formed from in- 'upon or into' + rigare 'to wet or water'.