toilet

American  

[toi-lit] / ˈtɔɪ lɪt /

noun

• toilets
  plural

1. 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.

2. a lavatory.

3. a bathroom.

4. toilet bowl.

5. a dressing room, especially one containing a bath.

6. the act or process of dressing or grooming oneself, including bathing and arranging the hair.

   to make one's toilet; busy at her toilet.

7. toilet set.

8. the dress or costume of a person; any particular costume.

   toilet of white silk.

9. Surgery. the cleansing of a part after childbirth or a wound after an operation.

10. Archaic. dressing table.

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idioms

1. go down / in the toilet, to become worthless or profitless; be doomed.

   The team's entire season went down the toilet.

toilet British  

/ ˈtɔɪlɪt /

noun

1. another word for lavatory

2. old-fashioned the act of dressing and preparing oneself

   to make one's toilet

3. old-fashioned a dressing table or the articles used when making one's toilet

4. rare costume

5. the cleansing of a wound, etc, after an operation or childbirth

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• toilets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of toilet

1530–40; < French toilette small cloth, doily, dressing table, equivalent to toile toil ² + -ette -et

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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

See Examples For:

toilet toilets

Stewart came from humble origins, however: He was born on July 13, 1940, in a West Yorkshire industrial town, and raised in a house lacking an indoor toilet or running hot water.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

The Dodgers are out; the Rams are underwater; the Trojans have a potent offense but so-so defense; and, the Chargers are in the toilet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

With one eye on her baby in a pushchair, Minae Kamata operates an arcade machine in a Tokyo suburb, manipulating a claw to grab not a stuffed toy but a pack of toilet paper.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

The allegation this week that an OpenAI engineer from Saudi Arabia wrapped a tiny mic in toilet paper and hid it in a company conference room has suddenly raised the specter of Silicon Valley spies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026

I can hear a toilet flushing over and over again and water sloshing out of a bowl.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

If that same friend handed me a list of toilets to scrub before returning the keys, however, I might reconsider the friendship.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Crop pickers were paid less than the federal minimum wage, had no access to toilets, no way to wash their hands, no mandated breaks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026

"I remember this very distinctly, having just come from China, thinking, 'How is China the next country on the horizon? They don't even have proper toilets," she added.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The guidance also says staff facilities should be used by people based on their biological sex, while trusts should ensure enough alternatives to single-sex facilities, such as single-occupancy toilets, are offered.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The cats and dog drank from the toilets, having despaired of getting their water bowls filled every morning, and everyone in the family talked to one another at the top of their lungs.

From "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett

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Related Words

• latrine
• lavatory
• outhouse
• restroom

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