toilet

American  

[toi-lit] / ˈtɔɪ lɪt /

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.

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idioms

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

   The team's entire season went down the toilet.

toilet British  

/ 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

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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

We shot it on stage with a fake toilet and Carey was almost vomiting.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

Artist Maurizio Cattelan’s ‘America’—a functioning toilet and a work of art—at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

In recent years, Mould says she has seen a "huge change" with more children arriving at school with speech and language difficulties, difficulty regulating their emotions, and issues with going to the toilet.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

People who need long-term care often need help with activities of daily living such as bathing or showering, getting dressed, using the toilet or walking across a room.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

With trembling hands I dropped my few belongings into it, the blue sweater, the pajamas—covered now back and front with embroidered figures —toothbrush, comb, a few remaining crackers wrapped in toilet paper.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• latrine
• lavatory
• outhouse
• restroom