toilet
Americannoun
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toilets
plural
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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.
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a lavatory.
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a bathroom.
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a dressing room, especially one containing a bath.
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the act or process of dressing or grooming oneself, including bathing and arranging the hair.
to make one's toilet; busy at her toilet.
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the dress or costume of a person; any particular costume.
toilet of white silk.
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Surgery. the cleansing of a part after childbirth or a wound after an operation.
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Archaic. dressing table.
idioms
noun
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another word for lavatory
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old-fashioned the act of dressing and preparing oneself
to make one's toilet
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old-fashioned a dressing table or the articles used when making one's toilet
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rare costume
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the cleansing of a wound, etc, after an operation or childbirth
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of toilet
1530–40; < French toilette small cloth, doily, dressing table, equivalent to toile toil 2 + -ette -et
Explanation
When you've really got to go, you need the toilet. It's what you use to relieve yourself after you've drunk way too much lemonade. A toilet is the most basic feature of a modern bathroom. You can also use this word for the room that houses it, as in "Excuse me, where is the toilet?" — although in the U.S. most people say "bathroom" or "restroom" instead. Another meaning of toilet is "the routine of washing and dressing," and this old-fashioned definition is the original one, from a word meaning "cover or bag for clothes."
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.
See Examples For:
Federal prosecutors say an OpenAI engineer concealed an encrypted audio recording device in toilet paper behind a conference-room television.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
OpenAI engineer and a hidden toilet paper-wrapped microphone.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2026
Kohler’s Integra, introduced as “the toilet of the future” at the Chicago fair, had a dramatic black finish made to equate sanitation with modern design.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
The toilet was smashed and appeared to be full of human waste.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
Lou Ann loves getting a deal on toilet paper the way I love making a basket from the free-throw line.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
White House Press Secretary Katie Zacharia, who was appointed less than a week ago, said China lacked "proper toilets" in an interview that aired on Thursday.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
You once told me that you’ve worked with a lot of toilets and shovels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Hynes also gives examples of changes on the recently nationalised Thameslink; investment in better cleaning, improving toilets and replacing unpopular upright "ironing-board" seats.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
A resident of one of the buildings that was hit, who identified herself as Iryna, 69, said she just had time to seek refuge in the toilets after receiving an air raid warning.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
Julia cries all evening, while her father sweeps and mops and dusts and cleans the toilets.
From "The One and Only Ivan" by Katherine Applegate
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
