1
: an artificial reservoir (such as an underground tank) for storing liquids and especially water (such as rainwater)
2
: a large usually silver vessel formerly used (as in cooling wine) at the dining table
3
: a fluid-containing sac or cavity in an organism
Examples of cistern in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Lots more green spaces in general that allow rainwater to soak into the underlying aquifer or cisterns for later extraction.
—
Matt Simon, WIRED, 9 May 2024
On a smaller scale, LADWP has been experimenting with turning parks into mini spreading grounds, diverting stormwater there to soak into subterranean cisterns or chambers.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2024
The hotel strives for sustainability, including collecting rainwater in cisterns for bathing and cooking.
—Carley Thornell, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024
Direct water from your roof’s downspouts to capture rainfall and store in a cistern.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Dec. 2023
Somewhere there was a tractor, somewhere there was a cistern, cultivators.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024
These include turfgrass replacement, rain barrels and cisterns, downspout redirects and rain gutters.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2023
Roofs are pitched to maximize runoff, which flows into a series of underground cisterns where it’s filtered and sterilized with UV light.
—Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2023
The 21-year-old’s decomposing nude corpse was discovered in a water cistern on the hotel roof.
—Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 28 Oct. 2023
Matt Simon, WIRED, 9 May 2024
On a smaller scale, LADWP has been experimenting with turning parks into mini spreading grounds, diverting stormwater there to soak into subterranean cisterns or chambers.
—Matt Simon, WIRED, 19 Feb. 2024
The hotel strives for sustainability, including collecting rainwater in cisterns for bathing and cooking.
—Carley Thornell, Travel + Leisure, 19 Jan. 2024
Direct water from your roof’s downspouts to capture rainfall and store in a cistern.
—Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Dec. 2023
Somewhere there was a tractor, somewhere there was a cistern, cultivators.
—Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 1 Mar. 2024
These include turfgrass replacement, rain barrels and cisterns, downspout redirects and rain gutters.
—Caron Golden, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2023
Roofs are pitched to maximize runoff, which flows into a series of underground cisterns where it’s filtered and sterilized with UV light.
—Sarah Greaves-Gabbadon, Travel + Leisure, 24 Nov. 2023
The 21-year-old’s decomposing nude corpse was discovered in a water cistern on the hotel roof.
—Stephanie Nolasco, Fox News, 28 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cistern.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cistern
Cite this Entry
“Cistern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cistern. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cistern
noun
cis·tern
ˈsis-tərn 
: an artificial reservoir or tank for storing water usually underground
Medical Definition
cistern
noun
cis·tern
ˈsis-tərn
: a fluid-containing sac or cavity in an organism
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