LAVATORY Definition & Meaning

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lavatory

[ lav-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural lavatories.

a room fitted with equipment for washing the hands and face and usually with flush toilet facilities.
a flush toilet; water closet.
a bowl or basin with running water for washing or bathing purposes; washbowl.
any place where washing is done.

lavatory

/ -trɪ; ˈlævətərɪ /

noun

Also calledtoiletwater closetWC
1. a sanitary installation for receiving and disposing of urine and faeces, consisting of a bowl fitted with a water-flushing device and connected to a drain
2. a room containing such an installation
the washing place in a convent or monastic establishment

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of lavatory¹

1325–75; Middle English lavatorie < Late Latin ��ō��ܳ� washing-place, equivalent to Latin �� ( re ) to wash + -��ō��ܳ� -tory ²

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of lavatory¹

C14: from Late Latin ��ō��ܳ�, from Latin ��re to wash

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"We take this opportunity to urge passengers to use lavatories only for the purposes that they are meant for," it said.

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Others associated the slogan with demand for lavatories.

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Mr Jackson said six or seven police officers then boarded the plane and he overheard a flight attendant say a woman had been going from one lavatory to the other during the flight.

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Lambton, a photographer, traveled all over Britain to bring us this visual history of the lavatory.

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A former American flight attendant is accused of luring girls to use the lavatory after taping his iPhone to the toilet seat and explaining that the seat was broken.

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