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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

cistern

/ˈsɪs.tɚn/

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American Pronunciation Guide · 0:47
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What does cistern mean?

noun

  1. A reservoir or tank for holding water, especially for catching and holding rainwater for later use.
  2. In a flush toilet, the container in which the water used for flushing is held; a toilet tank.
  3. A shallow, typically oval, vessel made of porcelain, pottery, or glass.
More meanings (3)

noun

  1. The receptacle that holds the fuel in an oil lamp.
  2. A cisterna.
  3. The vessel surrounding the condenser in a steam engine.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈsɪs.tɚn/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Our intercession, then, Must be to him that makes the camp a cistern Brimmed with the blood of men.
William ShakespeareThe Complete Works of William ShakespeareProject Gutenberg ebook #100
And then imagine some one comes with a phial, also of pure water, and pours the contents gently into the cistern.
Edward CarpenterPagan and Christian Creeds: Their Origin and MeaningProject Gutenberg ebook #1561
More book examples (3)
He is Shiva, under a new alias, and he abides in the bottom of that cistern, in the form of a stone lingam.
Mark TwainFollowing the Equator: A Journey Around the WorldProject Gutenberg ebook #2895
Elnora hurried down the road and was soon at the cistern with a tub busily washing arrow points, stone axes, tubes, pipes, and skin-cleaning implements.
Gene Stratton-PorterA Girl of the LimberlostProject Gutenberg ebook #125
Through the bars a view could be had of a dark aperture, something like the flue of a chimney, or the pipe of a cistern.
Victor HugoLes MisérablesTranslated by Isabel Florence HapgoodProject Gutenberg ebook #135