How to Use irrigate in a Sentence

irrigate

verb
  • The surgeon irrigated the wound.
  • Do not irrigate if there is snow cover over the lawn.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 18 Dec. 2025
  • When the soil feels loose and crumbly, irrigate the area and test the moisture level.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
  • When the soil feels loose and crumbly, irrigate the area and test the moisture level.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
  • But the canals worked just as well to irrigate poppies - which were much more profitable to grow.
    — Craig Whitlock, Anchorage Daily News, 9 Dec. 2019
  • Most of them are farmers who are using the water to irrigate their fields.
    — Kathleen Gray, chicagotribune.com, 4 Apr. 2018
  • Most of them are farmers who are using the water to irrigate their fields.
    — Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press, 2 Apr. 2018
  • If there is not rain in the forecast, plan to irrigate during the morning hours.
    — Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 28 Apr. 2026
  • The blood of our martyrs keeps irrigating the soil of the homeland.
    — Dahlia Kholaif, WSJ, 21 Oct. 2017
  • My backpack bulged with bug spray, sunscreen and enough water to irrigate a small farm.
    — Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2022
  • Avoid irrigating between 4 pm and 4 am to give your grass a chance to dry out.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 11 Sep. 2024
  • After the grapes have been picked, the vineyard needs power to process them and irrigate.
    — Ivan Penn, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2019
  • The water in the retention ponds is used to irrigate the fields.
    — Abraham Nudelstejer, Dallas Morning News, 3 Mar. 2026
  • The canal irrigates more than 108 square miles, the district said.
    — Idaho Statesman, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Some farmers had to irrigate their corn that year, and Andy can tell where the water ran out.
    — Tommy Birch, USA TODAY, 9 Aug. 2022
  • The city also reuses water to irrigate parks and golf courses.
    — Matt Vasilogambros, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2022
  • Farmers rely on it, too, to irrigate millions of acres.
    — ABC News, 8 May 2026
  • During the rest of the year, farmers are forced to find other ways of irrigating their crops.
    — John Defterios, CNN, 16 June 2019
  • The land is originally desert, but the first owner irrigates it and soon the desert blooms.
    — Zoe Greenberg, New York Times, 25 May 2018
  • Clean the wounds with mild soap and water; irrigate with water to remove debris.
    — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 27 May 2022
  • Mormon pioneers later used the canals to irrigate their crops in the desert.
    — Sonja Haller, azcentral, 18 Feb. 2015
  • During the heat waves, Gingerich has needed to irrigate more to keep the trees healthy.
    — Ian James, AZCentral.com, 1 Jan. 2021
  • The rooftop is solar-ready, the garage is wired for an electric-car charger, and the yard is irrigated.
    — Bang Staff and Correspondents, The Mercury News, 10 June 2019
  • Two-thirds of Utah’s water is used to irrigate alfalfa and hay.
    — Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2022
  • Say someone wants to fit turbines in a dam that was built to hold back water so it can be used to irrigate farmers’ fields.
    — Matt Reynolds, Wired, 16 Nov. 2021
  • The key is to irrigate slowly, rather than shooting a burst of water or solution in your ear.
    — Deanna Pai, Peoplemag, 27 Sep. 2022
  • To establish plantings, be sure to drip irrigate the root ball margin and out from there, not at the base of the main stem.
    — Lynlee Austell, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 July 2022
  • Watering at the base of plants in the morning is the most efficient way to irrigate your plants.
    — Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Robot lawn mowers are used in the gardens, and flowerbeds are irrigated with water from the ponds.
    — Lydia Bell, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Jan. 2026
  • That means mow your grass at the proper height for your species and fertilize and irrigate correctly.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 6 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'irrigate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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