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.
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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
The toilet has a lot of potential as a health monitor, says Seung-min Park, who led a Stanford School of Medicine project to develop a smart commode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 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
Managing her mother's pain, plus arranging items such as a wheelchair and commode, meant Ceridwen Hughes was not able to say a proper goodbye.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024
I watched her take a seat on the commode, how her belly dropped down between her legs.
From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
It found "visibly dirty" sinks, stained commodes and clinical waste bins with rusty lids.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2022
Bear said the commodes are often out of toilet paper as well.
From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2021
Composting commodes have been placed throughout the camp.
From Time ● Dec. 2, 2016
The problems of chamber pots — also known as “jerries, night soil, commodes, slop jars, close stools and thunder mugs” — also contributed to this noisome mix.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 4, 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.
