cistern

noun

cis·​tern ˈsi-stərn 

1

: an artificial reservoir (such as an underground tank) for storing liquids and especially water (such as rainwater)

2

: a large usually silver vessel formerly used (as in cooling wine) at the dining table

3

: a fluid-containing sac or cavity in an organism

Examples of cistern in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Louisville had a system of cisterns and wells by 1823, an official history of the city's fire department shows. —Leo Bertucci, Louisville Courier Journal, 17 Nov. 2025

The central square is commanded by the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, and the streets hold other imperial Ottoman-era mosques, Byzantine cisterns, and the remains of a hippodrome. —Katie Nadworny, Travel + Leisure, 8 Nov. 2025

The site included installations for processing grapes, along with cisterns used to supply water and grinding stones. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025

Anyone living in one of the dozens of surrounding villages, such as Nazareth, who was not rounded up must have cowered in fear behind closed doors or hidden in the various underground cisterns and hewn chambers beneath the ancient houses and courtyards of the Jewish villages. —Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin cisterna, from cista box, chest — more at chest

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

cistern

noun

cis·​tern ˈsis-tərn 

: an artificial reservoir or tank for storing water usually underground

Medical Definition

cistern

noun

cis·​tern ˈsis-tərn 

: a fluid-containing sac or cavity in an organism