loo

¹ American  

[loo] / lu /

noun

loos plural

1. a card game in which forfeits are paid into a pool.

2. the forfeit or sum paid into the pool.

3. the fact of being looed.

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verb (used with object)

looed, looing

1. to subject to a forfeit at loo.

loo ² American  

[loo] / lu /

noun

British Informal.

loos plural

1. toilet.

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loo ³ American  

[loo] / lu /

verb (used with or without object)

Chiefly Northern U.S.

loos plural

1. low.

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loo ⁴ American  

[loo] / lu /

noun

loos plural

1. Scots. love.

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loo ¹ British  

/ luː /

noun

1. a gambling card game

2. a stake used in this game

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loo ² British  

/ luː /

noun

1. an informal word for lavatory

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loo ³ British  

/ luː /

verb

1. a variant spelling of lou

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• loos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of loo¹

First recorded in 1665–75; short for lanterloo, from Dutch lanterlu, from French lantur(e)lu, a special use of a meaningless refrain of an old song

Origin of loo²

First recorded in 1935–40; of uncertain origin; perhaps from French lieux (d'aisances) “latrines, toilets,” literally, “places of ease”; perhaps a pun on the place name Waterloo, based on water closet

Example Sentences

Bar manager Miguel Loo, 30, lives about two or three miles away from the leaking chemical plant.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

The Watershed has gender neutral toilets, which won a Loo of the Year award in 2024.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Those hoping for bolder spending are likely to be disappointed, said Alex Loo at TD Securities.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

Scientists at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore have identified a protein that may help restore the brain's ability to produce new cells as it ages.

From Science Daily • Feb. 12, 2026

Loo ran forward to poke at it with a finger, and nobody stopped him.

From "Orphan Island" by Laurel Snyder