catchment.

1. The area from which water drains into a particular river, lake, reservoir, or other outlet.

2. The geographical area from which an institution draws people or which it serves.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• river catchment
• catchment area

On the page

Rain fell across the river catchment.

The study mapped the catchment boundary.

Runoff from the catchment entered the reservoir.

Usage notes

Primary category: environment. Forms: Singular catchment; plural catchments. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.