cesspool

noun

cess·​pool ˈses-ˌpül How to pronounce cesspool (audio)
1
: an underground reservoir for liquid waste (such as household sewage)
2
: a filthy, evil, or corrupt place or state
a cesspool of corruption

Examples of cesspool in a Sentence

The region had become a cesspool of pollution. over the decades the once-respectable neighborhood had become an urban cesspool
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But after some years, the cesspool got bigger, and our fort got smaller, and eventually the cesspool must have looked inviting. Willy Staley, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2025 Bob Dylan has returned to his favorite social-media cesspool of choice, X, not to review a trio of SNL curveballs from a certain young admirer but to instead memorialize a recently deceased friend and collaborator. Devon Ivie, Vulture, 27 Jan. 2025 But state law can't supercede federal law, so there's nothing Michigan lawmakers can do to break through the scum on the surface of these cesspools. M.l. Elrick, Detroit Free Press, 2 June 2024 In the absence of the local paper, will the void be filled by the unregulated cesspool of social media where facts and truth are often unnecessary baggage? Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cesspool

Word History

Etymology

perhaps by folk etymology from Middle English suspiral vent, tap on a main pipe, settling pool, from Anglo-French suspirale vent, from suspirer to sigh, exhale, from Latin suspirare, literally, to draw a long breath — more at suspire

First Known Use

1783, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cesspool was in 1783

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Cite this Entry

“Cesspool.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cesspool. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

cesspool

noun
cess·​pool ˈses-ˌpül How to pronounce cesspool (audio)
: an underground pit or tank for liquid waste (as household sewage)

More from Merriam-Webster on cesspool

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