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Synonyms

latrine

American  
[luh-treen] / ləˈtrin /

noun

  1. a toilet or something used as a toilet, as a trench in the earth in a camp, or bivouac area.


latrine British  
/ ləˈtriːn /

noun

  1. a lavatory, as in a barracks, camp, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of latrine

1635–45; < French < Latin lātrīna, short for lavātrīna place for washing, derivative of lavāre to wash

Vocabulary lists containing latrine

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.

Researchers collected 50 sediment samples from along the drain, which stretched roughly nine meters and carried waste from a communal latrine into a stream north of the fort.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2025

There was no water, and the stench of the latrine was unbearable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 18, 2025

Here are treasures from the Roman latrine to the Tudor garderobe to the Victorian water closet to the elegant “compactum.”

From New York Times • Nov. 23, 2024

Begum sits now amid the misery and the muck of the camps as the stench from a nearby latrine wafts by, wishing she could hear her children call her “mother” one more time.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 12, 2023

They rebuilt the latrine with shiny zinc walls and added a new, more comfortable seat.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago