toilet

[toi-lit]

noun

1. a bathroom fixture consisting of a bowl, usually with a detachable, hinged seat and lid, and a device for flushing with water, used for defecation and urination.

2. a lavatory.

3. a bathroom.

4. toilet bowl.

5. a dressing room, especially one containing a bath.

6. the act or process of dressing or grooming oneself, including bathing and arranging the hair.

   to make one's toilet; busy at her toilet.

7. toilet set.

8. the dress or costume of a person; any particular costume.

   toilet of white silk.

9. Surgery.,  the cleansing of a part after childbirth or a wound after an operation.

10. Archaic.,  dressing table.

toilet

/ ˈtɔɪlɪt /

noun

1. another word for lavatory

2. old-fashioned,  the act of dressing and preparing oneself

   to make one's toilet

3. old-fashioned,  a dressing table or the articles used when making one's toilet

4. rare,  costume

5. the cleansing of a wound, etc, after an operation or childbirth

Word History and Origins

Origin of toilet¹

1530–40; < French toilette small cloth, doily, dressing table, equivalent to toile toil ² + -ette -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of toilet¹

C16: from French toilette dress, from _toile

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. go down / in the toilet, to become worthless or profitless; be doomed.

   The team's entire season went down the toilet.

Example Sentences

She said festive items were required this year, such as Christmas cake, cranberry sauce, gravy, and chocolate coins for stockings, as well as essentials such as toilet roll, toothbrushes and deodorant.

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But the Blue Sky Trust said the stigma around the disease persists and it has heard of cases where people think HIV can be picked up from sharing cutlery or a toilet seat.

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These provide tailored housing advice and guidance, access to a GP, toilets, shower facilities, hot food, hot beverages, a postal service, bedding, clothing and access to volunteer-led activities.

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"You could smell toxins every time he went to the toilet," Makasi says.

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Residents had pooled money to build a shared toilet, he said.

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Related Words

• latrine 
• lavatory 
• outhouse 
• restroom