Etymology
Origin of holding tank
First recorded in 1970–75
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.
The confined space was the waterless, non-flushing holding tank for the toilet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
"From the start of the plant all the way through to the holding tank, the complete biogas system was dangerous," he said.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
Another detail the woman who turned us away never heard is that Clyde's birthday, listed on the name tag taped to his holding tank, is two days after RayRay's death.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
To protect the male sea dragon from bumping the eggs off his tail, aquarists at the New England Aquarium moved him to his own smaller holding tank to be monitored.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
I didn’t know the exact size of the Coral Queen’s holding tank, but I guessed it carried a couple hundred gallons of waste.
From "Flush" by Carl Hiaasen
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
