# reservoir

/ˈɹɛzəvˌwɑɹ/ (US) · /ɹˈɛzəvwˌɑː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/reservoir
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. water storage

noun · CEFR B2

a large natural or artificial lake used to store water for a city or region.

For teachers: a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply for domestic, industrial, or agricultural use.

- The city built a new reservoir in the hills to ensure there was enough water during the dry summer.
- Following the prolonged drought, the water level in the main reservoir dropped to its lowest point since the dam was constructed forty years ago.

### 2. a large supply

noun · CEFR C1 · Formal

a large amount or source of something, like knowledge, energy, or feelings.

For teachers: a large supply or source of something, often used figuratively for abstract qualities or resources.

- She has a deep reservoir of patience when dealing with difficult customers.
- The researcher tapped into a vast reservoir of historical data that had previously been overlooked by the academic community.

### 3. disease host

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a person or animal that carries a disease without getting sick, allowing the disease to survive and spread.

For teachers: a population or species that serves as a host for a pathogen, maintaining it over time and potentially transmitting it to other species.

- Scientists believe that certain types of bats act as a reservoir for the virus.
- Identifying the animal reservoir is a critical step in preventing the spillover of zoonotic diseases into human populations.

### 4. computing component

noun · CEFR C2 · Technical

a part of a computer system that processes signals in a complex way.

For teachers: a fixed, usually non-linear dynamical system used to map input signals into a high-dimensional space in reservoir computing.

- The reservoir in this neural network helps process data more efficiently.
- In reservoir computing, the internal states of the reservoir are sampled and mapped to the desired output through a trained linear layer.

### 5. to store

verb · CEFR C2 · Formal · Technical

to keep or store something in a large supply.

For teachers: to store or accumulate something in or as if in a reservoir. Transitive use is less common than the noun form.

- The system is designed to reservoir excess energy during the day for use at night.
- The geological formation has the capacity to reservoir significant quantities of natural gas beneath the cap rock.

## Examples

- The city gets its drinking water from a nearby reservoir.
- After the long drought, the water level in the mountain reservoir dropped to a record low.
- The professor is a vast reservoir of historical knowledge, often recalling obscure dates and names without consulting any reference materials.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.