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• john
  john

  noun

  a toilet or bathroom.
• John
  John

  noun

  the apostle John, believed to be the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the book of Revelation.

john

¹ American  

[jon] / dʒɒn /

noun

Slang.

• johns
  plural

1. a toilet or bathroom.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a fellow; guy.

3. (sometimes initial capital letter) a prostitute's customer.

4. Also called john mule.  a male mule, or more properly a gelded mule.

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John ² American  

[jon] / dʒɒn /

noun

1. the apostle John, believed to be the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the book of Revelation.

2. John the Baptist.

3. John Lackland, 1167?–1216, king of England 1199–1216; signer of the Magna Carta 1215 (son of Henry II of England).

4. Augustus Edwin, 1878–1961, British painter and etcher.

5. Elton Reginald Kenneth Dwight, born 1947, English rock singer, pianist, and songwriter.

6. the fourth Gospel.

7. any of the three Epistles of John: 1, 2, or 3 John.

8. a male given name.

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John ¹ British  

/ dʒɒn /

noun

1. New Testament

   1. the apostle John, the son of Zebedee, identified with the author of the fourth Gospel, three epistles, and the book of Revelation. Feast day: Dec 27 or Sept 26

   2. the fourth Gospel

   3. any of three epistles (in full The First, Second, and Third Epistles of John )

2. See John the Baptist

3. known as John Lackland. 1167–1216, king of England (1199–1216); son of Henry II. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother Richard I, having previously tried to usurp the throne. War with France led to the loss of most of his French possessions. After his refusal to recognize Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury an interdict was imposed on England (1208–14). In 1215 he was compelled by the barons to grant the Magna Carta

4. called the Fearless . 1371–1419, duke of Burgundy (1404–19). His attempt to control the mad king Charles VI and his murder of the king's brother led to civil war: assassinated

5. Augustus ( Edwin ). 1878–1961, British painter, esp of portraits

6. Barry born 1945, Welsh Rugby Union footballer: halfback for Wales (1966–72) and the British Lions (1968–71)

7. Sir Elton ( Hercules ). original name Reginald Dwight. born 1947, British rock pianist, composer, and singer; his hits include "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973) and "Candle in the Wind 1997" (1997), a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales

8. Gwen , sister of Augustus John. 1876–1939, British painter, working in France: noted esp for her portraits of women

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john ² British  

/ dʒɒn /

noun

1. a slang word for lavatory

2. slang a prostitute's client

3. slang short for John Hop

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• johns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of john¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Johan, Iohan, John; generic use of the proper name

Origin of John²

Middle English Johan, John, Jon, from Medieval Latin Jō(h)annēs, from Greek Iōánnēs, from Hebrew Yôkhānān, contracted from Yĕhôkhānān “God has been gracious”; cf. Anna ( def. ), Yahweh ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

john John johns

The story goes that when Gen. John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, called Tillerson to warn the tweet was coming, the secretary was on the john.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026

No one felt like they had to follow McCain into the bathroom, and even if they had, he would’ve given a press conference from the john.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2021

Here’s how john Kabateck, California state director for the small business lobby group the National Federation of Independent Business, put it:

From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2021

If anyone can help me please john has an eating problem and can only eat these from asda all he can tolerate.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2020

Now, whenever I’m in the bathroom, my mother knocks on the door like President Nixon’s here and needs to use the john.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

She was now dressed by the man who had created looks for clients like Cher, Tina Turner, Elton John and Carol Burnett.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

In 1614, after years of conflict with the settlers, he married off his teenage daughter Pocahontas to the English tobacco farmer John Rolfe, which brought a temporary truce.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Dean Henderson, Jordan Henderson, Reece James, Djed Spence and John Stones, who were all in the World Cup squad, miss out, with Tuchel saying they were not selected because of injuries.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

“We’re in a little bit of uncharted territory here,” said Matt Mackowiak, a Republican consultant who led Sen. John Cornyn’s unsuccessful primary bid against Paxton.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

John looked through the wet windshield at the flashing police lights, then glanced back into the crew cab, where Mark was sound asleep.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

There was a pervasive smell of what I would learn was wet, sweaty long johns.

From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2025

This time period also brought the introduction of union suits—predecessors of long johns and onesies—to meet the needs of both men and women.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 9, 2024

Teams dress in layers — long johns, hats, gloves and hand warmers for the frigid overnight and morning hours.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

At an antique store with long johns hanging from the rafters, he tried to buy old license plates to commemorate the day, only to be told that someone else had spoken for them.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 1, 2022

I discovered myself in the first one I opened—a picture of Kevin and me when we were little, sitting in our long johns on the couch.

From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings

Related Words

• latrine
• lavatory
• men's room
• outhouse
• toilet
• urinal