catch basin

American  

noun

1. a receptacle, located where a street gutter opens into a sewer, designed to retain matter that would not readily pass through the sewer.

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catch basin British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): catch pit.  a pit in a drainage system in which matter that might otherwise block a sewer is collected so that it may periodically be removed

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Etymology

Origin of catch basin

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

At least one local sneaked onto the site earlier this year to collect and later privately test the catch basin soil.

From Los Angeles Times

"I often describe the criminal legal system as the catch basin for the failures of the other systems. So when our education systems fail, or when our access to housing fails, or when our access to jobs fail, those systems' failures can direct more people to have contact with the criminal legal system," Snowden said.

From Salon

He thanked members of the California National Guard for clearing debris out of a catch basin that was constructed after the mudslide in order to divert rain.

From Seattle Times

The book features some of Banks’ most lyrical writing, but the skeptical edge is still there, deeply critical of religious and capitalist patter and indicting the Sunshine State as “a catch basin for the world’s detritus.”

From Los Angeles Times

Russell Banks’ ‘The Magic Kingdom’ finds a man explaining why he sold his land to Disney and why Florida is ‘a catch basin for the world’s detritus.’

From Los Angeles Times