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 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

According to Google Trends, the expression "public convenience" is not often used these days, and then only in the UK and US.

From BBC • Jul. 2, 2015

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

From The Guardian • Apr. 7, 2013

To regulate the services of communications and railroads, roads, canals, and harbors, creating those required by public convenience.

From The History of Cuba, vol. 4 by Johnson, Willis Fletcher