water tower

American  

noun

water towers plural

1. a vertical pipe or tower into which water is pumped to a height sufficient to maintain a desired pressure for firefighting, distribution to customers, etc.

2. a fire-extinguishing apparatus for throwing a stream of water on the upper parts of a tall burning building.

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water tower British  

noun

1. a reservoir or storage tank mounted on a tower-like structure at the summit of an area of high ground in a place where the water pressure would otherwise be inadequate for distribution at a uniform pressure

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• water towers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of water tower

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

water tower

The launch complex’s water tower is “also good,” according to Limp, while its big support tower is damaged but repairable.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026

Warner distributed photos of Zaslav walking the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank with Sarandos and Peters, smiling in front of the studio’s famed water tower.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 28, 2026

The town of 2,000 also features a full Pusser museum, the Buford Pusser fairgrounds, a water tower with Buford’s image on it, and the Buford Pusser Highway.

From Slate ● Nov. 6, 2025

The water tower which tops Victor's laboratory is a nod to one such Scottish landmark.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025

“There,” he finally said, pointing at the water tower that served the residents of St. Catherine’s Island, the first and the largest of the sea islands separating Ravenel from the mainland.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy