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

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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

Other companies are storing electrical energy as heat in molten salt or pumping water into reservoirs for later use as hydropower. — Andrew Blum, Time, "The Tech Innovations We Need to Happen if We're Going to Survive Climate Change," 12 Sep. 2019 There’s no one clear primary reservoir for Group A Strep. — Naseem S. Miller, orlandosentinel.com, "After Hurricane Dorian: What is ‘flesh-eating’ bacteria and how do I avoid it?," 3 Sep. 2019 Those who are infected can become undetected disease reservoirs for mosquitoes, the main cause of Zika transmission. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Hidden Zika outbreak detected with new surveillance method developed by Scripps Research scientists," 22 Aug. 2019 An exhaustive investigation blamed the explosive conflagration on the sudden rupture of a high-pressure helium tank immersed in the second stage liquid oxygen reservoir. — William Harwood, CBS News, "SpaceX Falcon 9 set to launch Israeli satellite, 3 years after explosion destroyed first one," 6 Aug. 2019 It’s made possible by one of Connecticut’s true architectural marvels and the largest drinking water reservoir in the state. — John Torsiello, courant.com, "80-year-old architectural marvel at Barkhamsted Reservoir is also a lovely picnic spot," 4 Aug. 2019 Finally, poor reservoir and land management have revealed a lack of long-erm planning on these issues, the experts have said. — Jason Hanna, CNN, "Houston is forecast to get its most rain from one storm system since Harvey," 17 Sep. 2019 The four Snake River dams are used primarily to create reservoirs for the barging of Idaho’s wheat to ports. — Jim Robbins, New York Times, "How Long Before These Salmon Are Gone? ‘Maybe 20 Years’," 16 Sep. 2019 The reservoir printers are costly upfront, but the ink is as low as $12 per bottle. — Dalvin Brown, USA TODAY, "Should you really pay monthly to use your at-home printer?," 16 Sep. 2019

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.

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Statistics for reservoir

Last Updated

5 Oct 2019

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for reservoir

The first known use of reservoir was in 1690

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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