commode
Americannoun
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commodes
plural
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a low cabinet or similar piece of furniture, often highly ornamental, containing drawers or shelves.
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a stand or cupboard containing a chamber pot or washbasin.
-
a portable toilet, especially one on a chairlike frame with wheels, as for an invalid.
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an elaborate headdress consisting chiefly of a high framework decorated with lace, ribbons, etc., worn perched on top of the hair by women in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
noun
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a piece of furniture, usually highly ornamented, containing drawers or shelves
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a bedside table with a cabinet below for a chamber pot or washbasin
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a movable piece of furniture, sometimes in the form of a chair, with a hinged flap concealing a chamber pot
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a woman's high-tiered headdress of lace, worn in the late 17th century
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of commode
First recorded in 1680–90; from French, from Latin commodus “convenient, fitting, suitable”; equivalent to com- + mode 1
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:
I mean, let’s face it, we don’t put ADA-required rails on every commode in every bathroom.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2026
This week, Personal Tech columnist Nicole Nguyen writes about a $599 smart toilet camera that aims to unlock the mysteries of what lands in the commode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
There's a commode in her living room until she can get a downstairs toilet, and wall rails have had to be fitted to help her move about.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2025
Gonzalez said Medi-Cal determined the chair, which can cost more than $1,000, was “a luxury” item that they did not need — but that they qualified for a commode.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2024
So was the smell of the room after Morrie had used the commode.
From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
The unannounced HIW inspection took place between 20 and 22 June and found "visibly dirty" sinks, stained commodes and clinical waste bins with rusty lids.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2022
The home, in other words, was designed to be a sumptuous backdrop for the gilded commodes and carved-leg bergères of its time.
From New York Times ● Feb. 15, 2022
Like earlier space commodes, air suction, rather than water and gravity, removes the waste.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2020
Composting commodes have been placed throughout the camp.
From Time ● Dec. 2, 2016
Already I was heavy-hearted in my soul for the flush commodes and machine-washed clothes and other simple things in life I have took for granite.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
