cesspool

[ ses-pool ]
/ ˈsɛsˌpul /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR cesspool ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a cistern, well, or pit for retaining the sediment of a drain or for receiving the sewage from a house.
any filthy receptacle or place.
any place of moral filth or immorality: a cesspool of iniquity.

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Origin of cesspool

1575–85; cess (< Italian cesso privy < Latin rēcessus recess, place of retirement) + pool1

Words nearby cesspool

cesser, cession, cessionary, cesspipe, cesspit, cesspool, cesta, cestan-chenais syndrome, cesti, cestoda, cestode
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to cesspool

cesspit, sump

Example sentences from the Web for cesspool

British Dictionary definitions for cesspool

cesspool

cesspit (ˈsɛsˌpɪt)

/ (ˈsɛsˌpuːl) /

noun

Also called: sink, sump a covered cistern, etc, for collecting and storing sewage or waste water
a filthy or corrupt placea cesspool of iniquity

Word Origin for cesspool

C17: changed (through influence of pool 1) from earlier cesperalle, from Old French souspirail vent, air, from soupirer to sigh; see suspire
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012