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Definition of lavatory noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

lavatory

noun
 
/ˈlævətri/
 
/ˈlævətɔːri/
(plural lavatories)
(old-fashioned or formal)
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  1. (especially British English) a toilet, or a room with a toilet in it
    • There's a bathroom and a lavatory upstairs.
    Topics Houses and homesc2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • public
    • gents’
    • ladies’
    • …
    verb + lavatory
    • go to
    • use
    • visit
    • …
    lavatory + noun
    • bowl
    • chain
    • cistern
    • …
    preposition
    • in the lavatory
    • on the lavatory
    See full entry
  2. (British English) a public building or part of a building, with toilets in it
    • The nearest public lavatory is at the station.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • public
    • gents’
    • ladies’
    • …
    verb + lavatory
    • go to
    • use
    • visit
    • …
    lavatory + noun
    • bowl
    • chain
    • cistern
    • …
    preposition
    • in the lavatory
    • on the lavatory
    See full entry
    3. Word Originlate Middle English: from late Latin lavatorium ‘place for washing’, from Latin lavare ‘to wash’. The word originally denoted something in which to wash, such as a bath or pool for bathing, later (mid 17th cent.) a room with washing facilities; the current sense dates from the 19th cent.
See lavatory in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: lavatory

Nearby words

era
noun
 
 
From the Topic
History
B2
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