Word.ws English Dictionary

lavatory

/ˈlæv.ə.tɹi/US/ˈlæv.ə.t(ɔ)ɹ.i/

lavatory noun: a vessel or fixture for washing, particularly.

Noun

lavatory (plural lavatories)

  1. (formal) A vessel or fixture for washing, particularly
    • Whon he haþ vsed he walkeþ riht
      To Lauatorie þer hit is diht
      For to wassche his hende.a. 1375, Lay Folks Mass Book, Appendix iv, p. 606
    • And thow shalt make a brasun lauatory with his foot to wasshe with.1382, Bible (Wycliffe), Exod. 30:18
  2. (formal) A laver: a washbasin.
  3. (archaic, formal) A bathtub.
  4. (formal) A piscina: the basin used for washing communion vessels.
  5. (formal) A lavabo: the basin used for washing one's hands before handling the Eucharist.
  6. (figuratively, formal, usually) A baptismal font: the basin used for baptism, used figuratively for the washing away of sins.
  7. (formal, interior design) A plumbing fixture used for washing: a sink.
    • Their 'bathroom' included a toilet and a lavatory but no bath.
    • Lavatories (bathroom sinks) are available in a blizzard of colors, materials, and styles.2005, Michael W. Litchfield, Renovation, page 325
  8. (formal) Handwashing as an act, particularly
    • Wᵗ condicion that at the tyme of the Lavatory eueryche of theym turne theym to the people, and exorte theym to pray for ye soules following...1513, Robert Fabyan, last will and testament
    1. (formal) The lavabo: the ritual washing of hands before handling the eucharist.
    2. (formal) The ritual washing of hands after using the piscina to clean the communion vessels.
  9. (formal, obsolete) A liquid used in washing; a lotion; a wash; a rinse.
    • They must be wasshed wyth wyne or wyth some other lauatorye.1490, Publius Vergilius Maro, chapter XXVIII, in William Caxton, transl., The Boke yf Eneydos, page 110
  10. (dated, formal) A washroom: a room used for washing the face and hands.
    • Even the lavatory, a vestibule to the refectory through which the novices would pass on their way to the recreation room, boasted a painting cycle.2003, Gauvin A. Bailey, Between Renaissance and Baroque: Jesuit Art in Rome, 1565-1610, page 61
  11. (euphemistic, formal) A room containing a toilet: a bathroom (US) or WC (UK).
    • Americans don't know 'WC' and Brits mock 'bathroom' but everyone usually understands 'toilet' or 'lavatory'.
    • People needing to use the lavatory often ask to use the baño in a restaurant; toilet paper is rarely available, so the experienced traveler always carries a personal supply.2003, Rob Rachowiecki et al., Ecuador and the Galápagos Islands, page 44
    Synonyms:
    bathroom
  12. (Northeastern, UK, US, formal) A plumbing fixture for urination and defecation: a toilet.
    • In a traditional German lavatory, the hole in which shit disappears after we flush water is way in front, so that the shit is first laid out for us to sniff at and inspect for traces of some illness; in the typical French lavatory, on the contrary, the hole is in the back - that is, the shit is...1997, Slavoj Žižek, The Plague of Fantasies, page 4
Show 3 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (dated, formal) A place to wash clothes: a laundry.
  2. (formal, obsolete) A place where gold is panned.
  3. (formal, obsolete) A paved room in a mortuary where corpses are kept under a shower of disinfecting fluid.

Adjective

lavatory (not comparable)

  1. (dated, formal) Washing, or cleansing by washing.

lavatory meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

lavatory in Hindi

lavatory
टट्टी ṭaṭṭī

lavatory in Tamil

கழிப்பறை, கழிப்பிடம், கழிவறை

lavatory in Urdu

بیت الخلا, غسل خانہ, حمام

lavatory in Bengali

শৌচাগার, প্রস্রাবাগার
More languagesFewer languages
lavatory in Malayalam
കക്കൂസ്, കുളിപ്പുര, ശൗചസ്ഥാനം
lavatory in Kannada
ಶೌಚಾಲಯ, ಕಕ್ಕಸು, ಪಾಯಿಖಾನೆ, ತಳ್ಳುವೆಡೆ

Examples of lavatory in a sentence

  • The books in his waiting room inclined Asiatically, as did the knickknacks in his lavatory.
  • Such waste apparently is caused by leaks in airplane lavatories.
  • When soiled the wadding should be flushed down the lavatory, the two layers rinsed and disposed of with the household refuse.

All 21 example sentences with lavatory

Synonyms of lavatory

Forms of lavatory

plurallavatories
alternative pronunciation-spellinglavat'ry

Plural of lavatory: lavatories

Origin of lavatory

From Middle English lavatorie, from Late Latin lavātōrium, from Latin lavāre (“to wash”) + -ium (forming places related to an activity). As a place to pan gold, via Spanish lavadero. Doublet of lavatorium and laver. See also lave.

From Latin lavātōrius.

Words formed from lavatory

Phrases with lavatory

Questions about lavatory

What does lavatory mean?
Lavatory means a vessel or fixture for washing, particularly.
What is lavatory in Hindi?
Lavatory in Hindi is टट्टी (ṭaṭṭī). See Lavatory meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is lavatory?
Lavatory can be a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce lavatory?
Lavatory is pronounced /ˈlæv.ə.tɹi/ (UK).
What is the plural of lavatory?
The plural of lavatory is lavatories.

Words near lavatory in the dictionary

  1. lavatorial
  2. lavatorially
  3. lavatories
  4. lavatorium
  5. lavatoriums
  6. lavatory
  7. lavatory brush
  8. lavatory brushes
  9. lavatory paper
  10. lavatory papers
  11. lavatory room

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lavatory (page history and authors); टट्टी (Hindi) (page history and authors); lavatory (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lavatory (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lavatory (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lavatory (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); lavatory (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-lavatory.wav.

Cite this entry: “lavatory.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/lavatory. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.