cesspool

noun

cess·​pool ˈses-ˌpül 

1

: an underground reservoir for liquid waste (such as household sewage)

2

: a filthy, evil, or corrupt place or state

a cesspool of corruption

Synonyms

• Augean stable
• Gomorrah
• sink

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

A couple of weeks back, apropos of nothing, a small cadre in the cesspool formerly known as Twitter decided that the most important cultural irritant of the moment was the rise of visible ASL interpreters at press conferences and public events. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2025

The platform has itself been called a cesspool, rife with hateful rhetoric and falsehoods. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2025

Let’s state the fact not often discussed: Facebook is a cesspool of misinformation, child trafficking, and violent crime. —Charlie Fink, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025

Facebook started out as a campus directory for college students and then evolved into a cesspool of misinformation that also sells VR headsets. —Adam Clark Estes, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018

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

Kids Definition

cesspool

noun

cess·​pool ˈses-ˌpül 

: an underground pit or tank for liquid waste (as household sewage)