toilet

[toi-lit]

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.

toilet

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of toilet¹

1530–40; < French toilette small cloth, doily, dressing table, equivalent to toile toil ² + -ette -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of toilet¹

C16: from French toilette dress, from _toile

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

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

   The team's entire season went down the toilet.

Example Sentences

Bodycare's no-nonsense store layouts are known for their bright lighting, and window displays that often feature piles of toilet tissue or pyramids of washing up powder.

From BBC

The exterior walls are his signature salmon pink and the toilets are almost a century old.

From Los Angeles Times

Baby changing facilities are available within the event area and will be situated in the toilet units and at the welfare tent.

From BBC

Sometimes it would take Ayda a week to go to the toilet because she associated it with pain, her mum explained.

From BBC

The newspaper at hand is the Toledo Truth Teller, sharing space with the toilet paper division.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• latrine 
• lavatory 
• outhouse 
• restroom