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Synonyms

potty

1 American  
[pot-ee] / ˈpɒt i /

adjective

pottier, pottiest

  1. Chiefly British Informal. slightly insane; eccentric.

  2. British. paltry; trifling; petty.

potty 2 American  
[pot-ee] / ˈpɒt i /

noun

plural

potties

  1. a seat of reduced size fitting over a toilet seat, for use by a small child.

  2. a small metal pot fitting under a potty-chair.

  3. Baby Talk. a toilet.

potty 1 British  
/ ˈpɒtɪ /

adjective

  1. foolish or slightly crazy

  2. trivial or insignificant

  3. very keen (about)

"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
potty 2 British  
/ ˈpɒtɪ /

noun

  1. a child's word for chamber pot

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of potty1

First recorded in 1855–60; pot 1 + -y 1

Origin of potty2

First recorded in 1840–50; pot 1 + -y 2

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.

The Scottish Retail Consortium called the policy a "potty gimmick".

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

In the Palisade Calligraphy, the miles seem shorter even as the time between potty breaks grows longer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

Fury appears several times on video call, where he talks to his daughter and asks how her potty training is going.

From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025

This process was clearly going to involve more than potty training—although that proved harder than I expected, too.

From Slate • Sep. 4, 2025

Soon we were no longer hitting, biting, pinching, scratching, or using potty language.

From "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina" by Michaela DePrince

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.