lavatory

/ˌlævəˈtɔri/

/ˈlævətɔri/

Other forms: lavatories

A lavatory is a bathroom or a restroom. You should go to a restaurant's lavatory to wash your hands before dinner.

Lavatory is a slightly formal way to say "bathroom." Most people would never refer to this room in their own homes as a lavatory, although they might use this word for public restrooms in schools, hospitals, or other buildings. In the U.K., a lavatory is just a toilet, and its earliest meaning was "washbasin," from the Latin root lavatorium, or "place for washing."

Definitions of lavatory

1. noun

   a room or building equipped with one or more toilets
   synonyms: bathroom, can, john, lav, privy, toilet

   types:

   head

   (nautical) a toilet on board a boat or ship

   comfort station, convenience, public convenience, public lavatory, public toilet, restroom, toilet facility, wash room

   a toilet that is available to the public

   washroom

   a lavatory (particularly a lavatory in a public place)

   W.C., closet, loo, water closet

   a toilet in Britain

   ladies' room, powder room

   a woman's restroom in a public (or semipublic) building

   latrine

   a public toilet in a military area

   men's, men's room

   a public toilet for men

   type of:

   room

   an area within a building enclosed by walls and floor and ceiling
2. noun

   a toilet that is cleaned of waste by the flow of water through it
   synonyms: flush toilet

   type of:

   can, commode, pot, potty, stool, throne, toilet

   a plumbing fixture for defecation and urination
3. noun

   a bathroom sink that is permanently installed and connected to a water supply and drainpipe; where you can wash your hands and face
   synonyms: basin, washbasin, washbowl, washstand

   type of:

   sink

   plumbing fixture consisting of a water basin fixed to a wall or floor and having a drainpipe