toilet
Americannoun
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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:
In some cases, the requests can be simple, such as helping to fix a clogged toilet or a garage door that won’t open.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Treating hyped stocks like toilet paper circa March 2020 is a mistake.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
It was not until three years later, in 2010, that Lowri discovered the tapeworm when in a restaurant toilet and flushed it down the loo.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
"It's quite an inconvenience that we can't wash up, use the toilet, or do things like that," said 53-year economist Claudio Pittia.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Lack of soap and water and toilet facilities weren’t the only problems that the Soviet soldiers faced in terms of hygiene.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Taylor Coulter was returning from the toilets in Magaluf's famous Bananas nightclub when a stranger bumped into her on the stairs.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Publican Garry Rees-Andrews has a member of staff at The New Cornish Arms on "fly-watch" throughout their shift to make sure the seating areas, kitchen and toilets are fly-free.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
Vloklinec doesn't have adequate access roads, parking areas or public toilets needed to cater for the crowds that descend on it.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
On a more mundane level—but perhaps a leap in reducing marital strife—he expects AI-assisted toilets to do tasks like automatically lift a toilet seat for a man.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
Soon after this the toilets were fitted with chains to hold the tops on, and when they overflowed it took a long time to get them open.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
