toilet
Americannoun
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toilets
plural
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a bathroom fixture consisting of a bowl, usually with a detachable, hinged seat and lid, and a device for flushing with water, used for defecation and urination.
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a lavatory.
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a bathroom.
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a dressing room, especially one containing a bath.
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the act or process of dressing or grooming oneself, including bathing and arranging the hair.
to make one's toilet; busy at her toilet.
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the dress or costume of a person; any particular costume.
toilet of white silk.
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Surgery. the cleansing of a part after childbirth or a wound after an operation.
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Archaic. dressing table.
idioms
noun
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another word for lavatory
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old-fashioned the act of dressing and preparing oneself
to make one's toilet
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old-fashioned a dressing table or the articles used when making one's toilet
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rare costume
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the cleansing of a wound, etc, after an operation or childbirth
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of toilet
1530–40; < French toilette small cloth, doily, dressing table, equivalent to toile toil 2 + -ette -et
Explanation
When you've really got to go, you need the toilet. It's what you use to relieve yourself after you've drunk way too much lemonade. A toilet is the most basic feature of a modern bathroom. You can also use this word for the room that houses it, as in "Excuse me, where is the toilet?" — although in the U.S. most people say "bathroom" or "restroom" instead. Another meaning of toilet is "the routine of washing and dressing," and this old-fashioned definition is the original one, from a word meaning "cover or bag for clothes."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
School children have outings to waterworks to understand how precious the resource is, and households have embraced water-saving devices for shower heads and toilet cisterns.
From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026
When Hoyos-Munoz stood atop the toilet in his cell, officers went back in and placed him on a bunk in a prone position.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
The two men spent 80 consecutive hours holed up and writing “on printer sheets, on tissues, on toilet paper,” according to Mr. St. George.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Daily Star splashes with the story of a woman who found a bat in her toilet after it flew in the bathroom for a drink of water.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
There was a bed in his cell, a table, and a sharp-edged, rusty bucket for a toilet.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
She said there are just three toilets for more than 400 people.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Families of service members detailed severe shortages of fresh water and food, overflowing toilets, broken facilities and a complete breakdown in mental health support.
From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026
The issues come after a major supply outage in July saw passengers face long queues for toilets at the West Sussex airport, with restaurants and bars also closing.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The Dodgers instituted a private player-only plane and added Japanese-style toilets after then-recruit Roki Sasaki asked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The Wilhelm Gustloff had fifty bathrooms, one hundred showers, and one hundred and forty-five toilets.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
