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catchment

American  
[kach-muhnt] / ˈkætʃ mənt /

noun

  1. the act of catching water.

  2. something for catching water, as a reservoir or basin.

  3. the water that is caught in such a catchment.


catchment British  
/ ˈkætʃmənt /

noun

  1. the act of catching or collecting water

  2. a structure in which water is collected

  3. the water so collected

  4. the intake of a school from one catchment area

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of catchment

First recorded in 1840–50; catch + -ment


Vocabulary lists containing catchment

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

A draft of the study didn’t propose only one solution but advocated for 23 different strategies, including bluff stabilization, catchment walls, sand placement, engineered revetments or seawalls and rail-foundation improvements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026

Water voles use to be fairly common in the Hogsmill River catchment but the species, immortalised as Ratty in The Wind in the Willows, was "locally extinct" until 2025.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Laura Nee, catchment officer for the South East Rivers Trust, said the non-native species "predate on about one animal per day".

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

A National Trust site in Shropshire are working to try and slow down water, to prevent the catchment from getting flooded.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Farmer decided that all TB patients in the catchment area should receive the full package of services, including the equivalent of five American dollars per month.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

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