reservoir

noun

res·er·voir | \ ˈre-zə-ˌvwär

, -zər-, -ˌvwȯr also -ˌvȯi

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

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about reservoir

Keep scrolling for more

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 on the Web

The last major reservoir, New Melones, was completed in 1979, with a capacity of more than two... — WSJ, "California’s Water Woes Are Self-Inflicted," 7 Mar. 2019 May brought record rains, which filled up the reservoir early. — John Fialka, Scientific American, "A Wyoming Reservation Shows the New Face of Drought," 6 June 2018 Place tank in the base and allow the bleach solution to drain into the water reservoir. — Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, "How to Clean a Humidifier, According to the Good Housekeeping Institute," 4 Jan. 2019 Runoff then rushes into rivers that dump into the delta rather than flowing south or into reservoirs for storage for the dry years. — The Editorial Board, WSJ, "Trump’s California Water Relief," 19 Oct. 2018 The dam was built to divert the Houay Makchanh, Xe-Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant that is due to begin operations in 2019. — Youkyung Lee, The Seattle Times, "Flooding from Laos hydroelectric dam leaves hundreds missing," 24 July 2018 The park cliff is popular with people who hike in and then jump into the reservoir below. — Bill Leukhardt, courant.com, "Teen Hurt In Cliff Fall At Ragged Mountain In Berlin," 22 June 2018 Sports can be incredibly effective at tapping into the reservoir of what Hernández called sentimentalismo. — Brian Straus, SI.com, "United States of El Tri: Mexico Owns America's World Cup Spotlight," 30 May 2018 Completing the dam would turn the little fish’s river habitat into a reservoir and likely mean extinction. — Rachel Riederer, The New Republic, "Can Rivers Be People Too?," 9 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.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about reservoir

Dictionary Entries near reservoir

Statistics for reservoir

Last Updated

23 Mar 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for reservoir

The first known use of reservoir was in 1690

See more words from the same year

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for reservoir

reservoir

noun

English Language Learners Definition of reservoir

: 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

See the full definition for reservoir in the English Language Learners Dictionary

reservoir

noun

res·er·voir | \ ˈre-zər-ˌvwär

Kids Definition of reservoir

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

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 rats are reservoirs of plague — compare carrier sense 1a