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

Very kindly, the girl in the cloakroom called a taxi, and one of the younger members of the door staff carried my bag all the way out to the pavement.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Tape it above the door in the House cloakrooms.

From Slate ● Mar. 19, 2024

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

Members of Congress are also prohibited from carrying firearms in certain rooms of the complex, including lobbies near the chambers, cloakrooms, the Marble Room of the Senate, and the Rayburn Room of the House.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2022

Some senators left their seats and headed to cloakrooms, stood in the back or openly yawned as he spoke.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2020

He has direct charge of the cloakrooms, and must see that they are kept neat and clean, and that each individual has a certain space allotted.

From How Department Stores Are Carried On by W. B. Phillips