lavatory
Americannoun
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lavatories
plural
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a room fitted with equipment for washing the hands and face and usually with flush toilet facilities.
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a flush toilet; water closet.
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a bowl or basin with running water for washing or bathing purposes; washbowl.
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any place where washing is done.
noun
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Also called: toilet. water closet. WC.
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a sanitary installation for receiving and disposing of urine and faeces, consisting of a bowl fitted with a water-flushing device and connected to a drain
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a room containing such an installation
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the washing place in a convent or monastic establishment
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lavatory
1325–75; Middle English lavatorie < Late Latin lavātōrium washing-place, equivalent to Latin lavā ( re ) to wash + -tōrium -tory 2
Explanation
A lavatory is a bathroom or a restroom. You should go to a restaurant's lavatory to wash your hands before dinner. Lavatory is a slightly formal way to say "bathroom." Most people would never refer to this room in their own homes as a lavatory, although they might use this word for public restrooms in schools, hospitals, or other buildings. In the U.K., a lavatory is just a toilet, and its earliest meaning was "washbasin," from the Latin root lavatorium, or "place for washing."
Vocabulary lists containing lavatory
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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:
But the video features the 29-year-old Vermonter singing from the lavatory of his hotel bathroom; with a hashtag reading "explosive diarrhoea".
From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026
Much of the action in the show takes place in the lavatory, with the women plotting to make money or manipulate their partners.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2025
Mr. Fleurizard then made his way toward the back of the plane, and he went into a lavatory there, according to court records.
From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2024
Thompson then told her the first-class lavatory was unoccupied and escorted her there, investigators said.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 20, 2024
He also wanted the lavatory seat in his villa to be raised one inch.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
The facility hosts 85 beds with the capacity to expand to 100 and includes a mix of dormitories, lavatories, a kitchen and laundry facilities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
He urges athletes to choose window seats in the middle of the aircraft, away from the most-trafficked areas—the front, where everyone enters, and the rear, near the galley and the lavatories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2025
BBC Scotland News understands that the Scottish government is confident that the vast majority of schools in Scotland already offer single-sex lavatories.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2025
Plus, onboard wheelchairs need to go frontward into lavatories and have proper wheel locks, cushioning and restraints.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
Near the bank of lavatories on the starboard side I crouched to peer through a small, waist-level window, hoping to catch a glimpse of some mountains.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
