catch basin

American  

noun

1. a receptacle, located where a street gutter opens into a sewer, designed to retain matter that would not readily pass through the sewer.

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catch basin British  

noun

1. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): catch pit.  a pit in a drainage system in which matter that might otherwise block a sewer is collected so that it may periodically be removed

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Etymology

Origin of catch basin

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

He thanked members of the California National Guard for clearing debris out of a catch basin that was constructed after the mudslide in order to divert rain.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 13, 2023

During a storm in November, multiple people were swept out from the West Cucamonga Channel, which flows into a nearby catch basin.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 4, 2023

Just 40 feet long, it had been dug between the church and a hole cut in the side of an underground drainage pipe connecting a nearby rainwater catch basin to the Grand tunnel.

From BusinessWeek • Aug. 2, 2012

Finally, it should be clear even to non-actuaries that in this plan Medicaid would be the catch basin mainly for relatively sicker Americans, as it already is.

From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2012

Figure 72 shows a catch basin at the left of a walk or drive, and the tile laid underneath for the purpose of carrying away the surface water.

From Manual of Gardening (Second Edition) by Bailey, L. H. (Liberty Hyde)