cesspool

[ ses-pool ]
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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.

  1. any place of moral filth or immorality: a cesspool of iniquity.

Origin of cesspool

1
1575–85; cess (<Italian cesso privy <Latin rēcessusrecess, place of retirement) + pool1

Words Nearby cesspool

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

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British Dictionary definitions for cesspool

cesspool

cesspit (ˈsɛsˌpɪt)

/ (ˈsɛsˌpuːl) /


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

Origin of cesspool

1
C17: changed (through influence of pool 1) from earlier cesperalle, from Old French souspirail vent, air, from soupirer to sigh; see suspire

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