reservoir

[ rez-er-vwahr, -vwawr, -vawr, rez-uh- ]

/ ˈrɛz ərˌvwɑr, -ˌvwɔr, -ˌvɔr, ˈrɛz ə- /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR reservoir ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a natural or artificial place where water is collected and stored for use, especially water for supplying a community, irrigating land, furnishing power, etc.

a receptacle or chamber for holding a liquid or fluid.

Geology. See under pool¹(def 6).

Biology. a cavity or part that holds some fluid or secretion.

a place where anything is collected or accumulated in great amount.

a large or extra supply or stock; reserve: a reservoir of knowledge.

Origin of reservoir

1680–90; < French réservoir, equivalent to réserv(er) to reserve + -oir -ory²

SYNONYMS FOR reservoir

5 store, pool, fund, stockpile, hoard.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR reservoir ON THESAURUS.COM

Words nearby reservoir

reserved list, reserved occupation, reserved power, reserved word, reservist, reservoir, reservoir bag, reservoir host, reservoir of spermatozoa, reservoir rock, reset

Definition for reservoir (2 of 2)

pool ¹

[ pool ]

/ pul /

noun

a small body of standing water; pond.

a still, deep place in a stream.

any small collection of liquid on a surface: a pool of blood.

a puddle.

swimming pool.

a subterranean accumulation of oil or gas held in porous and permeable sedimentary rock (reservoir).

verb (used without object)

to form a pool.

(of blood) to accumulate in a body part or organ.

verb (used with object)

to cause pools to form in.

to cause (blood) to form pools.

adjective

of or for a pool: pool filters.

taking place or occurring around or near a pool: a pool party.

Origin of pool

before 900; Middle English; Old English pōl; cognate with Dutch poel, German Pfuhl

Example sentences from the Web for reservoir

He finished second in 2008 behind John McCain, and maintains a reservoir of good will among Republican social conservatives.

Can Huckabee Convert the GOP’s Moneymen? |Lloyd Green |January 4, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
“The reservoir for filovirus has remained a huge mystery,” Bruenn said in 2010.

Ebola's Roots Are 50 Times Older Than Mankind. And That Could Be the Key to Stopping It. |Michael Daly |October 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Reservoir Dogs did fantastic internationally, so everyone was waiting for my new movie.

The Secrets of ‘Pulp Fiction’: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About the Movie on Its 20th Anniversary |Marlow Stern |October 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The animal reservoir for SARS is bats, whereas the reservoir for MERS is primarily camels.

Is Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) the Next SARS? |Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad |May 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The rains have returned to much of the state, but some reservoir levels are still worryingly low.

California May Have Its Driest Season in 500 Years |Kate Galbraith |January 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The fireman was already on the tender, ready to slew over the pipe that would bring a cataract of water down into the reservoir.

Bert Wilson's Twin Cylinder Racer |J. W. Duffield
This reservoir was made by a water company to supply all our little dams, and keep all our mills going.

Patience Wins |George Manville Fenn
The stream is so large and constant that there is nothing left in the reservoir.

Practical Ethics |William DeWitt Hyde
This reservoir is filled up to the level of the tube opening.

Gas-Engines and Producer-Gas Plants |R. E. Mathot
Then a waterproofing contractor agreed to make the reservoir water tight with paper and tar, by applying it on the inside.

Concrete Construction |Halbert P. Gillette

British Dictionary definitions for reservoir (1 of 3)

reservoir

/ (ˈrɛzəˌvwɑː) /

noun

a natural or artificial lake or large tank used for collecting and storing water, esp for community water supplies or irrigation

a receptacle for storing gas, esp one attached to a stove

biology a vacuole or cavity in an organism, containing a secretion or some other fluid

anatomy another name for cisterna

a place where a great stock of anything is accumulated

a large supply of something; reserve a reservoir of talent

Word Origin for reservoir

C17: from French réservoir, from réserver to reserve

British Dictionary definitions for reservoir (2 of 3)

pool ¹

/ (puːl) /

noun

a small body of still water, usually fresh; small pond

a small isolated collection of liquid spilt or poured on a surface; puddle a pool of blood

a deep part of a stream or river where the water runs very slowly

an underground accumulation of oil or gas, usually forming a reservoir in porous sedimentary rock

See swimming pool

Word Origin for pool

Old English pōl; related to Old Frisian pōl, German Pfuhl

British Dictionary definitions for reservoir (3 of 3)

pool ²

/ (puːl) /

noun

any communal combination of resources, funds, etc a typing pool

the combined stakes of the betters in many gambling sports or games; kitty

commerce a group of producers who conspire to establish and maintain output levels and high prices, each member of the group being allocated a maximum quota; price ring

finance, mainly US

a joint fund organized by security-holders for speculative or manipulative purposes on financial markets
the persons or parties involved in such a combination

any of various billiard games in which the object is to pot all the balls with the cue ball, esp that played with 15 coloured and numbered balls; pocket billiards

verb (tr)

to combine (investments, money, interests, etc) into a common fund, as for a joint enterprise

commerce to organize a pool of (enterprises)

Australian informal to inform on or incriminate (someone)

Word Origin for pool

C17: from French poule, literally: hen used to signify stakes in a card game, from Medieval Latin pulla hen, from Latin pullus young animal

Medical definitions for reservoir (1 of 2)

reservoir

[ rĕz′ər-vwär′, -vwôr′, -vôr′ ]

n.

A fluid-containing sac or cavity.

An organism or a population that directly or indirectly transmits a pathogen while being virtually immune to its effects.

A large or extra supply; a reserve.

Medical definitions for reservoir (2 of 2)

pool

[ pōōl ]

n.

A collection of blood in any region of the body due to dilation and retardation of the circulation in capillaries and veins.

Scientific definitions for reservoir

reservoir

[ rĕz′ər-vwär′ ]

A natural or artificial pond or lake used for the storage of water.

An underground mass of rock or sediment that is porous and permeable enough to allow oil or natural gas to accumulate in it.

An organism that is the host for a parasitic pathogen or that directly or indirectly transmits a pathogen to which it is immune.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

reservoir

noun

Origin of reservoir

SYNONYMS FOR reservoir

Words nearby reservoir

Definition for reservoir (2 of 2)