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:
Seven years on, Miriam has become more insistent in her denial that what happened to Oscar may never be known, despite the ominous discovery of his wallet in a public bathroom toilet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
"I'd love every venue to have a poster in every toilet and every member of staff to know what to do."
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
I hadn’t previously considered that telling a computer I needed toilet paper might result in an emergency toilet-paper rate.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
The Dodgers are out; the Rams are underwater; the Trojans have a potent offense but so-so defense; and, the Chargers are in the toilet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 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
They mapped out public toilets in some of the poorest regions of the city, created bus routes databases and fought slum clearance policies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
The campaign features some of the country’s most architecturally impressive toilets, many situated along scenic routes overlooking fjords, mountains and waterfalls.
From Salon ● Oct. 31, 2026
Crop pickers were paid less than the federal minimum wage, had no access to toilets, no way to wash their hands, no mandated breaks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
"The toilets were behind where he stood. It was literally just grab and pull. He was holding me quite strongly on the arm and pulled me in that direction," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Scott scrubbed the toilets and took out the trash and straightened up messes people left in the living room.
From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart
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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.
