water tower

American

noun

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

water tower British

noun

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

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

water towers

plural

Etymology

Origin of water tower

First recorded in 1880–85

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:

water tower

“The city has water in the water tower, however, that is a limited quantity.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

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

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

The road cuts back away from the water tower.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023