Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A receptacle for holding water or other liquid, especially a tank for catching and storing rainwater.
- noun Anatomy A cisterna.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A natural or artificial receptacle or reservoir for holding or storing water or other fluid, most commonly consisting of mason-work sunk in the ground, but sometimes constructed of wood and placed on the tops of houses.
- noun A vessel made of lead to hold a stock of water for household uses; also, one made of silver, copper, or other metal, to put bottles or glasses in.
- noun The vessel inclosing the condenser of a condensing steamengine, and containing the injection-water.
- noun The receptacle into which glass is ladled from the pots to be poured on the table in making plate-glass, or in casting glass; a cuvette.
- noun In decorative art: A large vessel, generally of pottery or porcelain, shallow in proportion to its length and breadth, and usually oval in plan.
- noun A tank or receptacle for water, usually hung upon the wall, and serving to give water, by a spigot or tap, for use in washing, etc.: often of faience or of copper, and a very decorative object. Compare
fountain in this sense. - noun In anatomy, a reservoir or receptacle of some natural fluid of the body.
- noun In mining, a tank in a deep shaft, serving an upper pump with water from a lower one.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An artificial reservoir or tank for holding water, beer, or other liquids.
- noun A natural reservoir; a hollow place containing water.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
reservoir ortank for holdingwater , especially forcatching andholding rainwater for later use. - noun technical In a
flush toilet , the container in which the water used forflushing is held; a toilet tank. - noun anatomy A
cisterna .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun an artificial reservoir for storing liquids; especially an underground tank for storing rainwater
- noun a tank that holds the water used to flush a toilet
- noun a sac or cavity containing fluid especially lymph or cerebrospinal fluid
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home, (which) uses indigenous grasses, shrubs, and flowers to complete the exterior treatment of the home.
Archive 2007-04-01 2007
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Not only does the rush of water into the cistern disturb any sleepers on the Prince of Wales Road side of the house, but my cistern is afflicted with peculiarly loud gurglings and thumpings, while frequently the pipes emit a loud groaning sound.
Whose Body? Dorothy Leigh 1923
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Each year there seems to be less and less water sent into my cistern from the city.
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Each year there seems to be less and less water sent into my cistern from the city.
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Each year there seems to be less and less water sent into my cistern from the city.
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Once the cistern is filled, an electric pump moves the water up into a smaller holding tank on the roof, from which point it gravity-feeds down into the kitchen or bath whenever a faucet is opened.
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Once the cistern is filled, an electric pump moves the water up into a smaller holding tank on the roof, from which point it gravity-feeds down into the kitchen or bath whenever a faucet is opened.
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Cleaving to the cistern is leaving the fountain, and is resented accordingly.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume IV (Isaiah to Malachi) 1721
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The cistern is the central part of our grey water system, collecting rainwater that we then use in the greenhouse and elsewhere.
Nigel Sheinwald: The Greenest Garden in Washington Nigel Sheinwald 2011
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The cistern is the central part of our grey water system, collecting rainwater that we then use in the greenhouse and elsewhere.
Nigel Sheinwald: The Greenest Garden in Washington Nigel Sheinwald 2011
hernesheir commented on the word cistern
The receptacle into which glass is ladled from the pots to be poured on the table in making plate-glass, or in casting glass; a cuvette.
January 15, 2013