reservoir

noun res·er·voir \ ˈre-zə-ˌvwär , -zər- , -ˌvwȯr also -ˌvȯi \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Examples: reservoir in a Sentence

Definition of reservoir

1 : a place where something is kept in store: such as

a : an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in quantity for use

b : a part of an apparatus in which a liquid is held

c : supply, store

a large reservoir of educated people

2 : an extra supply : reserve

3 : an organism in which a parasite that is pathogenic for some other species lives and multiplies usually without damaging its host

See reservoir defined for English-language learners

See reservoir defined for kids

Examples of reservoir in a Sentence

The pen has a large ink reservoir.
Colleges and universities provide reservoirs of talent for job recruiters.
She found the reservoirs of energy she needed to finish the job.

Recent Examples of reservoir from the Web

Predominant fish species: Catfish (channel, blue and flathead catfish throughout the reservoir).

— jerry garcia, San Antonio Express-News, "Bexar County is home to 14 community fishing lakes," 11 June 2018
The main sticking point with Egypt concerns how quickly the reservoir behind the dam is filled, and the impact that will have downstream.

— samy magdy, The Seattle Times, "PM says Ethiopia will not cut Egypt’s share of Nile waters," 10 June 2018
There is a seasonal variation to the methane that repeats, which means the methane is being released from the Martian surface or from reservoirs beneath the surface.

— ashley strickland, CNN, "NASA's Curiosity rover finds organic matter on Mars," 7 June 2018
Newer towers tend to hide their reservoirs inside and often use multiple tanks housed throughout the building so water can be pumped to the top in smaller increments.

— New York Times, "Where Do High-Rises Hide Their Water Tanks?," 26 May 2018
Harriet never a wallflower, spear headed the effort to stop I-84 from bisecting our beloved West Hartford reservoir in the early 70's.

— hartford courant, courant.com, "Harriet R. Mogensen," 13 May 2018
After the dam was completed in 1936, its reservoir slowly inundated the town, driving the locals to collect their belongings and move on.

— anne burke, San Francisco Chronicle, "You no longer need a snorkel to see this Nevada ghost town," 30 Apr. 2018
Although output from all oil fields diminishes over time as the pressure in their reservoirs falls, Angola’s deep-water operations are especially costly to maintain.

— rupert rowling, Bloomberg.com, "OPEC Cuts May Go Deeper as Another Member Sees Output Slump," 27 Apr. 2018
That gives Duke more time and more reservoirs to control the downstream flow, says spokeswoman Kim Crawford.

— michael gordon, charlotteobserver, "Here's what Charlotte can expect from Alberto," 28 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reservoir.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of reservoir

French réservoir, from Middle French, from reserver

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1690

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

reservoir Synonyms

Synonyms

budget, force, fund, inventory, pool, repertoire, stock, supply;

Related Words

reserve, resource;

cache, hoard, stockpile;

refill, renewal, replacement;

kitty, nest egg, pot, purse;

fountain, mine, source, spring, well, wellspring;

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

RESERVOIR Defined for English Language Learners

reservoir

noun

Definition of reservoir for English Language Learners

: a usually artificial lake that is used to store a large supply of water for use in people's homes, in businesses, etc.
: a place (such as a part of a machine) where a liquid is stored
: an extra supply of something

RESERVOIR Defined for Kids

reservoir

noun res·er·voir \ ˈre-zər-ˌvwär \

Definition of reservoir for Students

: a place where something (as water) is kept in store for future use

Medical Dictionary

reservoir

noun res·er·voir \ ˈrez-ə(r)v-ˌwär , -ə(r)v-ˌ(w)ȯr \

medical Definition of reservoir

1 : a space (as an enlargement of a vessel or the cavity of a glandular acinus) in which a body fluid is stored

2 : an organism in which a parasite that is pathogenic for some other species lives and multiplies without damaging its host; also : a noneconomic organism within which a pathogen of economic or medical importance flourishes without regard to its pathogenicity for the reservoir