ENGLISH
REFERENCE

toilet

n. countable
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈtɔɪɫət// UK //tˈɔɪlət// toi·let Archaic General-service Vulgar

n. a large bowl with a seat that you use to get rid of waste from your body. It uses water to wash the waste away into a pipe.

n. a large bowl-shaped fixture with a seat and a water-flushing mechanism used for the disposal of human waste. In British English, it also refers to the room containing this fixture.


SIMPLE

Please remember to flush the toilet.

CONTEXTUAL

The restaurant manager apologized because the guest toilet on the second floor was out of order.

COMPLEX

Modern urban infrastructure relies on a sophisticated network of sewers to transport waste from every household toilet to a centralized treatment plant.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle French toilette, diminutive of toile (“cloth”), from their use to protect clothing while shaving or arranging hair. From its use as a private room, toilet came to refer euphemistically to lavatories and then to its fixtures, beginning in the United States in the late 19th century.

Usage

In North America, 'bathroom' or 'restroom' is often preferred in social situations, whereas 'toilet' refers specifically to the porcelain fixture itself.

Idioms1 entry

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