Meaning

6 senses
  1. A reservoir or tank for holding water, especially for catching and holding rainwater for later use.

    1913, A.C. Cotter, Catholic Encyclopedia, "Wells in Scripture", Their extreme necessity is attested by the countless number of old, unused cisterns with which the Holy Land is literally honeycombed.

    Zisterne

    цисте́рнаcistɛ́rna, бакbak, резервуа́рrezervuár

    цисте́рнаcystérna, бакbak, резервуа́рrezervuár

    an artificial reservoir for storing liquids; especially an underground tank for storing rainwater

  2. In a flush toilet, the container in which the water used for flushing is held; a toilet tank.

    Spülkasten

    бачо́кbačók

    a tank that holds the water used to flush a toilet

  3. A shallow, typically oval, vessel made of porcelain, pottery, or glass.

  4. The receptacle that holds the fuel in an oil lamp.

  5. A cisterna.

  6. The vessel surrounding the condenser in a steam engine.

Examples

6 sentences
  1. The cistern on the roof collects rainwater.

    ruВ цистерне, находящейся на крыше, скапливается дождевая вода.

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  2. My father is waiting for us at the cistern.

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  3. She's probably in that cistern by now, taking down every word we say.

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  4. The cistern is empty.

    ruЦистерна пуста.

    deDer Wassertank ist leer.

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  5. Rainwater is distributed through an irrigation system and collected in cisterns for the rooftop garden.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
reservoir for holding water:
Русский
By meaning 2
reservoir for holding water:
flush toilet's container:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
reservoir for holding water:
flush toilet's container:

Origin

From Middle English cisterne, from Old French cisterne (Modern French citerne) from Latin

From Middle English cisterne, from Old French cisterne (Modern French citerne) from Latin cisterna, from cista (“box”), from Ancient Greek κίστη (kístē, “box”). Doublet of cisterna.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: cisterns

Synonyms

3 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • a tank that holds the water used to flush a toilet:water tank
  • a sac or cavity containing fluid especially lymph or cerebrospinal fluid:cisterna

Word family

8 related words

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
cistern — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto