1a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply:the more water we use, the more land has to be flooded for reservoirs
a supply or source of something:Scotland has always had a fine reservoir of comic talent
[usually with modifier] a place where fluid collects, especially in rock strata or in the body:big oil reservoirs are becoming harder to find
a receptacle or part of a machine designed to hold fluid:if all three colours overlap then a black dot is printed from the black ink reservoir
2 Medicine a population, tissue, etc. which is chronically infested with the causative agent of a disease and can act as a source of further infection:there is a vast reservoir of herpes infection in the community
