outhouse

[ out-hous ]

noun

, plural out·hous·es [out, -hou-ziz].

1. an outbuilding with one or more seats and a pit serving as a toilet; privy.
2. any outbuilding.

outhouse

/ ˈaʊtˌhaʊs /

noun

1. a building near to, but separate from, a main building; outbuilding
2. an outside lavatory

Word History and Origins

Origin of outhouse¹

First recorded in 1525–35; out- + house

Example Sentences

It was a different world — one with well-insulated homes and indoor plumbing, not outhouses.

From Washington Post

Meanwhile, I welcomed its warmth on trips to the outhouse and while shoveling snow off the deck.

From Outside Online

Sharon had lived with an outhouse in Mongolia, “so that was something I was used to,” she said.

From ProPublica

They bleached outhouses and the area around the concert stage offered plenty of space for social distancing, she said.

From ProPublica

Even at 3am on a rainy night, your only toilet option is a wet and perhaps muddy walk to the outhouse.

From The Daily Beast

Stein says her jail time was "like living in an outhouse in very close quarters."

From The Daily Beast

In many rural Chinese homes, a jar of pesticide—often a variety banned in Western countries—sits in the family outhouse.

From The Daily Beast

Perrier, to avoid these inconveniences, made an under-ground passage, by which his guest could pass to an outhouse.

From Project Gutenberg

A door at the side of this led to the little stone outhouse where the water for the pipes both of school and Chapel was heated.

From Project Gutenberg

The bath was in an outhouse about fifty yards across the yard from the ward.

From Project Gutenberg

But except at one corner of the roof of an outhouse, no damage had been done to the buildings—except the broken glass.

From Project Gutenberg

The cat had left her kittens in an outhouse before the snow began, and afterwards proposed to return to them.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bathroom
• latrine
• lavatory
• outbuilding