jakes
noun
an outdoor privy; outhouse.
jakes
1 American
[jayks]
/ dʒeɪks /
noun
(usually used with a plural verb)
-
an outdoor privy; outhouse.
-
a toilet or bedpan.
Jakes
2
American
[jayks]
/ dʒeɪks /
noun
jakes
British
/ dʒeɪks /
noun
-
an archaic slang word for lavatory
-
dialect human excrement
Etymology
Origin of jakes
1525–35; < French Jacques, proper name; cf. john
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:
In fact, many of his fellow jakes didn’t know until recently that he had MS.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 3, 2017
“Teenage males, or jakes, that are habituated to people get a bit aggressive.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 18, 2016
It seems innocuous, but in original pronunciation, it may have sounded like, he is a jakes, which is a toilet.
From Time ● Sep. 20, 2013
"We're seeing about 50 times more jakes than long beards," said Ray Henard of SaltFork Hunts in Wellington, Texas.
From Scientific American ● May 20, 2013
"We don't do this every day. Some days we clean out the jakes and pile it on the dung heap."
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
Sister Jakes said she had completed a dissertation on the psychological impact of the pandemic on staff.
From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2025
Jakes “to soften the impact on his public image of Cassie Ventura’s lawsuit.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2024
Sarah Jakes Roberts is well-known as the daughter of Bishop T.D.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
Jakes to seal our union in front of 2,000 guests that we would be feeding lobster, crab cakes, bald eagle meat and lobster and crab macaroni too.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2023
Eugene's mood was soft toward the little houses with their glowing windows, the occasional pedestrians with their "howdy Jakes" and "evenin' Henrys."
From The "Genius" by Theodore Dreiser
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