English

A bathroom with primitive toilet in Britain's Beamish Museum.

A public bathroom (restroom) in the United States.

Alternative forms

• bath room

Noun

bathroom ‎(plural bathrooms)

1. A room containing a bathtub and (typically but not necessarily) a toilet.
2. (chiefly US, 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

From the beginning of the 20th century, bathroom has been the generic word for a room with toilet facilities in both American^[1] and British English,^[2] although it is often considered an Americanism^[3] as Britons continued to say lavatory relatively more frequently and now often say 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.

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, &c.

Synonyms

• (room with a toilet): See Wikisaurus:bathroom

Hypernyms

• room

Hyponyms

• (room with a toilet): See Wikisaurus:bathroom

Translations

References

1. ↑ Google Ngram (American English).
2. ↑ Google Ngram (British English).
3. ↑ "List of Words Having Different Meanings in American and British English".