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:
A further £3m has been allocated for new and upgraded public toilet facilities.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
Getting to, from, on and off the toilet are all opportunities for falls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Aesthetically, of course, they are least intrusive when the toilet is in a separate room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
News organizations devote way less space to mergers, acquisitions or spinoffs involving toilet paper, paint or breakfast cereal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Soggy wads of toilet paper and crumpled hand towels are drifting across the floor like lumpy jellyfish.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Expanding on the "grim start" to travelling families, it writes, "drinking fountains were out of action", "there were queues for toilets, which could not be flushed" and "crowds were forced to sit on the floor".
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
But these days, builders and renovators often choose taller, “comfort height” toilets, usually with good intentions, like accommodating the disabled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
One mayor in Siberia is laying on portable toilets for drivers.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Ruzomberok is currently seeking international funds to repair and restore the church and other buildings, and to upgrade facilities such as adding more public toilets.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
How can the angels let my good brother work hard hard cleaning toilets, and for so little?
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
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.
