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• john
  john

  noun

  a toilet or bathroom.
• John
  John

  noun

  the apostle John, believed to be the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the book of Revelation.

john

¹ American  

[jon] / dʒɒn /

noun

Slang.

• johns
  plural

1. a toilet or bathroom.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a fellow; guy.

3. (sometimes initial capital letter) a prostitute's customer.

4. Also called john mule. a male mule, or more properly a gelded mule.

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John ² American  

[jon] / dʒɒn /

noun

1. the apostle John, believed to be the author of the fourth Gospel, three Epistles, and the book of Revelation.

2. John the Baptist.

3. John Lackland, 1167?–1216, king of England 1199–1216; signer of the Magna Carta 1215 (son of Henry II of England).

4. Augustus Edwin, 1878–1961, British painter and etcher.

5. Elton Reginald Kenneth Dwight, born 1947, English rock singer, pianist, and songwriter.

6. the fourth Gospel.

7. any of the three Epistles of John: 1, 2, or 3 John.

8. a male given name.

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John ¹ British  

/ dʒɒn /

noun

1. New Testament

   1. the apostle John, the son of Zebedee, identified with the author of the fourth Gospel, three epistles, and the book of Revelation. Feast day: Dec 27 or Sept 26

   2. the fourth Gospel

   3. any of three epistles (in full The First, Second, and Third Epistles of John )

2. See John the Baptist

3. known as John Lackland. 1167–1216, king of England (1199–1216); son of Henry II. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother Richard I, having previously tried to usurp the throne. War with France led to the loss of most of his French possessions. After his refusal to recognize Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury an interdict was imposed on England (1208–14). In 1215 he was compelled by the barons to grant the Magna Carta

4. called the Fearless . 1371–1419, duke of Burgundy (1404–19). His attempt to control the mad king Charles VI and his murder of the king's brother led to civil war: assassinated

5. Augustus ( Edwin ). 1878–1961, British painter, esp of portraits

6. Barry born 1945, Welsh Rugby Union footballer: halfback for Wales (1966–72) and the British Lions (1968–71)

7. Sir Elton ( Hercules ). original name Reginald Dwight. born 1947, British rock pianist, composer, and singer; his hits include "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973) and "Candle in the Wind 1997" (1997), a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales

8. Gwen , sister of Augustus John. 1876–1939, British painter, working in France: noted esp for her portraits of women

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john ² British  

/ dʒɒn /

noun

1. a slang word for lavatory

2. slang a prostitute's client

3. slang short for John Hop

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• johns
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of john¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English Johan, Iohan, John; generic use of the proper name

Origin of John²

Middle English Johan, John, Jon, from Medieval Latin Jō(h)annēs, from Greek Iōánnēs, from Hebrew Yôkhānān, contracted from Yĕhôkhānān “God has been gracious”; cf. Anna ( def. ), Yahweh ( def. )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

john John johns

The story goes that when Gen. John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, called Tillerson to warn the tweet was coming, the secretary was on the john.

From Salon ● Apr. 23, 2026

They also signed defensive back Buster Skrine and brought back outside linebacker john Simon.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2021

No one felt like they had to follow McCain into the bathroom, and even if they had, he would’ve given a press conference from the john.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2021

If anyone can help me please john has an eating problem and can only eat these from asda all he can tolerate.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2020

For instance, when he went to the john at school, he seldom flushed the toilet—and got a kick out of picturing the next kid who’d go in and find the mess in the bowl.

From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier

The pressure is on John Ternus to keep the momentum going, The Wall Street Journal’s Rolfe Winkler reports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026

“This show is as much about soccer as ‘Rocky’ is about boxing,” said Sudeikis, who described the eponymous title character as a cross between John Wooden and Mister Rogers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026

Additionally, rising memory costs are proving to be a sustained problem for Apple, with CEO John Ternus saying on the earnings call that costs are expected to rise even further in December.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026

John Reilly was only 11 in May 1973, when the legendary Ziggy Stardust landed at the Caird Hall in Dundee.

From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026

John felt the side of his head where it had bounced off the window.

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

This time period also brought the introduction of union suits—predecessors of long johns and onesies—to meet the needs of both men and women.

From National Geographic ● Jan. 9, 2024

“This is exactly the type of case that had it not been for the johns, it would probably just be handled locally.”

From Washington Times ● Nov. 11, 2023

Teams dress in layers — long johns, hats, gloves and hand warmers for the frigid overnight and morning hours.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

“It’s such an Alaskan thing to do, is let your friends know what gear they need for the day. So I knew I needed to wear my long johns, thanks to Sarah’s text.”

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2022

She had no sweaters, no long johns under skirts, no kerchief over her head.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

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Related Words

• latrine
• lavatory
• men's room
• outhouse
• toilet
• urinal

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