cesspool

American  

[ses-pool] / ˈsɛsˌpul /

noun

1. a cistern, well, or pit for retaining the sediment of a drain or for receiving the sewage from a house.

2. any filthy receptacle or place.

3. any place of moral filth or immorality.

   a cesspool of iniquity.

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cesspool British  

/ ˈsɛsˌpuːl, ˈsɛsˌpɪt /

noun

1. Also called: sink.   sump.  a covered cistern, etc, for collecting and storing sewage or waste water

2. a filthy or corrupt place

   a cesspool of iniquity

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Etymology

Origin of cesspool

1575–85; cess (< Italian cesso privy < Latin rēcessus recess, place of retirement) + pool ¹

Example Sentences

The misery now being inflicted on poor people crowded into cesspool camps from the Congo to Bangladesh defies description.

From Salon

“I was wary this would feel like an Instagrammy cesspool,” she says.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some people, however, go as far as creating burner accounts just for shopping to keep the cesspool of targeted ads separate from their main profiles where they interact with family and friends.

From MarketWatch

“L.A.? It’s a cesspool. When I was transferred from Chicago, I said, ‘Only if I can live in Orange County.’

From Los Angeles Times

Over the years, residents have seen the ecosystem change into an unrecognizable landscape — once clear ponds stocked with fish are now gray cesspools filled with white foam that is visible even in Google’s satellite images.

From Los Angeles Times