1. underground tanks or pits for collecting and storing sewage and waste water
2. places or situations characterized by corruption, immorality, or degradation
Usage: figurative

Examples

• The old house had two cesspools that needed to be pumped regularly.
• Modern homes typically use septic systems instead of traditional cesspools.
• The health inspector condemned the overflowing cesspools behind the restaurant.
• She described the corrupt political system as a cesspool of greed and dishonesty.
• The neighborhood had become a cesspool of crime and violence.
• Environmental regulations now prohibit the use of unlined cesspools.
• He vowed to clean up what he called the cesspools of government corruption.