jakes
noun
an outdoor privy; outhouse.
jakes
1 American
[jeyks]
/ dʒeɪks /
noun
(usually used with a plural verb)
-
an outdoor privy; outhouse.
-
a toilet or bedpan.
Jakes
2
American
[jeyks]
/ 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
Peter is such a champion he can stand in the jakes and throw up without using his finger.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Sister Jakes said she "cried" the first time she heard people clapping for the NHS.
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
After getting pregnant at the age of 13, Mrs. Jakes Roberts struggled to find her place in the world, overcome with insecurities, fear and depression.
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
“Sid Jakes seemed to think this might be one of Paine's jobs.”
From Ultima Thule by Mack Reynolds
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.
