bathroom – Wiktionary

English[edit]

A public bathroom (restroom) in the United States.

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From bath +‎ room. Compare Dutch badkamer (“bathroom”), German Badezimmer (“bathroom”), Swedish badrum (“bathroom”), Faroese baðrúm (“bathroom”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

bathroom (plural bathrooms)

1. A room containing a shower and/or bathtub, and (typically but not necessarily) a toilet.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:bathroom

   Hyponyms: see Thesaurus:bathroom

   Hypernym: room

2. (chiefly US, South Africa, Canada, euphemistic) A lavatory: a room containing a toilet and (typically but not necessarily) a bathtub.

   Most Americans don’t know ‘WC’ and many Brits mock ‘bathroom’ but almost everyone understands ‘toilet’ or ‘lavatory’.

Usage notes[edit]

From the beginning of the 20th century, bathroom has been the generic word for a room with toilet facilities in American English.^[1] As Britons continue to say lavatory relatively more frequently and often loo or WC for a room with a toilet but no bath. Partly from French influence, such rooms are also relatively more common in British homes.[citation needed]

In some contexts, bathroom refers more particularly to the toilet facilities of a private residence, distinguished from public buildings’ restrooms, men’s rooms, ladies’ rooms, etc.

Descendants[edit]

Translations[edit]

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