cistern

American  

[sis-tern] / ˈsɪs tərn /

noun

1. a reservoir, tank, or container for storing or holding water or other liquid.

2. Anatomy. a reservoir or receptacle of some natural fluid of the body.

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cistern British  

/ sɪˈstɜːnəl, ˈsɪstən /

noun

1. a tank for the storage of water, esp on or within the roof of a house or connected to a WC

2. an underground reservoir for the storage of a liquid, esp rainwater

3. anatomy another name for cisterna

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Other Word Forms

• cisternal adjective

Etymology

Origin of cistern

1250–1300; Middle English cistern ( e ) < Latin cisterna, equivalent to cist ( a ) ( cist ¹ ) + -erna noun suffix

Example Sentences

She’s taken, perversely, with John the Baptist, imprisoned in a cistern and prophesying doom for the decadent, Godless heathens, Salome in particular.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

The court heard Nath - after realising he had been "rumbled" - threw the bottle of Madagascar vanilla extract into a toilet cistern but it was later recovered by police.

From BBC • Feb. 6, 2026

Near the village of Jaun, a construction crew was laying pipes to deliver electricity and water from a new cistern to six local farms.

From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2024

Boys navigate the terrain on donkeys — water is drawn from a cistern, and grain is stored in a cave, where women and girls light cooking fires and talk about makeup and strangers who visit.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2023

In her most embittered moments we wrapped her in shawls, washed her face from the cistern tap, and brought her glasses of yogurt and rosewater.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri