public convenience

American  

[puhb-lik kuhn-veen-yuhns] / ˈpʌb lɪk kənˈvin yəns /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a restroom, especially at a large public place, as at a railroad station.

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public convenience British  

noun

1. a public lavatory, esp one in a public place

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Etymology

Origin of public convenience

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

"The view is the only reason I bought it," said developer Simon Ayres, who bought the public convenience from Cornwall Council for £169,000 in March.

From BBC • Nov. 25, 2024

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had allowed the company’s project to move forward in 2018 by granting PennEast a so-called certificate of public convenience and necessity, but lawsuits followed.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 29, 2021

The board decided that the pipeline met the requirements of Iowa law requiring it to “promote the public convenience and necessity.”

From Washington Times • Mar. 10, 2016

Instead, she personally inspected every public convenience in north London.

From The Guardian • Apr. 7, 2013

But the railroad keeps on running all the same; for the public convenience and welfare are the law of its life, and private peril and loss but an occasional episode.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 15, No. 88, February, 1865 by Various