cloakroom

American  

[klohk-room, -room] / ˈkloʊkˌrum, -ˌrʊm /

noun

• cloakrooms
  plural

1. a room in which outer garments, hats, umbrellas, etc., may be left temporarily, as in a club, restaurant, etc.; checkroom.

2. a room adjacent to a legislative chamber or legislative room, where legislators may leave their coats, relax, or engage in informal conversation.

3. British.

   1. a bathroom; a public restroom.

   2. a baggage room, as at a railway station, where packages and luggage may be left temporarily or checked through to one's destination.

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cloakroom British  

/ ˈkləʊkˌruːm, -ˌrʊm /

noun

1. a room in which hats, coats, luggage, etc, may be temporarily deposited

2. a euphemistic word for lavatory

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cloakrooms
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cloakroom

First recorded in 1850–55; cloak + room

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cloakroom cloakrooms

The leader should function as a player-manager who can be trusted to deliver on the Senate floor and in the cloakroom.

From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2025

Also worth noting: Rose added a toilet and a small cloakroom basin by Thomas Crapper & Co. to add a bit of whimsy to the washroom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2025

Mr Mills has submitted a planning application to Sheffield City Council to demolish a toilet block and another area of the building which houses a cloakroom and fire exits.

From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2024

The urinals — see the particularly majestic Deco “Radio” Adamsez iteration in the gentleman’s cloakroom of the old Derry and Toms building, Kensington — elevate the form to art even before Duchamp.

From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2024

But Lola’s health was on my mind as I gave my bag in at the cloakroom, and exchanged cheery good mornings with the porters.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

The Hill also picked out a defined audience—political addicts who want to know what’s happening in the Senate cloakrooms at all times—and catered to its needs.

From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2024

New cubbies — just like in school — were installed outside the chamber and in the cloakrooms to store Apple cellphones — or a real apple, if you’re Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 24, 2020

Electronics are forbidden inside the chamber, but those digitally addicted senators can access their smartphones when they pop into the cloakrooms in the back corner of each side.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 23, 2020

A dozen senators, from both parties, made exoduses to their respective cloakrooms.

From Slate ● Jan. 22, 2020

The arrangement of the large cloakrooms, refreshment-rooms, and passages downstairs, and the balconies and supper-rooms upstairs, is very convenient.

From A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' Our Home on the Ocean for Eleven Months by Annie Brassey