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  • gents'
    gents'
    noun
    the gents, a men's room.
  • gents
    gents
    noun
    (functioning as singular) a men's public lavatory

gents'

American  
[jents] / dʒɛnts /

noun

(used with a singular verb)
  1. Informal. the gents, a men's room.


gents British  
/ dʒɛnts /

noun

  1. informal (functioning as singular) a men's public lavatory

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of gents'

First recorded in 1920–25; see origin at gent 1, -s 3


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:

Bill Bryson wrote about it in his 1995 book Notes From A Small Island saying: "There is no place in the world finer for a pee than the ornate gents' room of the Philharmonic."

From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2020

I first interviewed Andrew Bacevich, the soldier turned scholar, after he spoke at the Hope Club, an old-line gents’ establishment in Providence, Rhode Island.

From Salon ● May 15, 2016

He cut the number of patterns from several thousand to only four, intended solely for the gents' jacket market.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2013

Although, admittedly, where I am standing is just by the gents' toilets in a succession of the hippest venues in western Europe.

From The Guardian ● Feb. 3, 2013

“Oh, no. No, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. That is just what there isn’t. He must have stepped into the gents’ room.”

From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin

FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday highlighted a separate partnership with the UFC to teach federal gents "amazing tactics so they can safeguard American lives."

From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026

Schauffele's picture adorns the entrance to the gents loos in the media centre.

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2025

“My cliquish world consisted of ladies and gents from Manhattan’s exclusive private schools and preppies down from New England boarding schools who played bit-parts on weekends and holidays,” she wrote.

From New York Times ● Oct. 10, 2022

It’s definitely all about the gents for the foreseeable future.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2022

“Go and see what those gents in the Terrace Room want,” he said.

From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman

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