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# lavatory

«lavatory» in Mova's school dictionary: **a toilet: the bowl you use to get rid of waste from your…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a lavatory, lavatories)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A lavatory is a toilet: the bowl you use to get rid of waste from your body. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#m1)

2) A lavatory is a room or small building with a toilet in it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#m2)

3) It is a polite and slightly formal or old-fashioned word, used on signs, in planes and trains. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life it appears on signs in planes, trains and public buildings; people use it as a polite word instead of «toilet». Many other words exist: loo (UK, informal), bathroom and restroom (US), dunny (Australia, slang), toilet. Phrases: public lavatory, go to the lavatory, lavatory paper.

### examples

- Excuse me, where is the lavatory? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#x1)
- The lavatory on the train was out of order. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#x2)
- Please wash your hands after using the lavatory. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#x3)
- The aeroplane has two lavatories at the back. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#x4)
- There's a public lavatory next to the park. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#x5)
- Grandma always calls the toilet «the lavatory». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#x6)
- The sign said: «Lavatory occupied». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/#x7)

### note

Countable: a lavatory, lavatories (y → ies). Say: LAV-a-tor-ee. It is a polite word, often a euphemism for «toilet». Short informal forms: lav, lavvy (UK). Americans more often say «bathroom» or «restroom». Do not confuse with «laboratory» (a science lab).

### In the corpora

- ["Lavatory" is a polite, old word for the toilet.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/8-toilets-and-getting-older/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «lavatory» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/lavatory/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.