Main definitions of loo in English

loo¹

noun

British
informal

A toilet.
as modifier ‘loo paper’
- ‘He feared there was a Government agenda to pension off public loos because councils did not have a duty to provide them, and closure kept council tax bills down.’
- ‘There are far too few accessible public loos in our town centres and the one in the car park is the only reliable convenience with a reasonable standard of cleanliness.’
- ‘In the popular Revolution bar and club on Belmont Street, a hastily extinguished cigarette was lying on the floor in the ladies' loos.’
- ‘We need proper loos now, of sufficient quality and quantity, to not only accommodate shoppers and visitors, but also to deal with the rugby hordes.’
- ‘Stand on a street corner with a clip board in hand soliciting signatures for the privatization of public loos.’
- ‘The excitement in the Ladies loos was barely controllable - apparently there used to be only three cubicles and now there's maybe twelve.’
- ‘Public loos in Southend could be turned into a trendy underground wine bar, it was revealed today.’
- ‘The loos have been supplied by Paton Plant, a Hamilton-based company which supplies luxury portable toilets to celebrity events.’
- ‘We sat for a while in a red room by the loos on a settee, waiting for something to happen (films were starting at 7.30).’
- ‘A few posters saying so, in a few ladies' loos, might be equally useful.’
- ‘A proposal to shut the public loos in Pewsey is not being taken sitting down by villagers.’
- ‘The second option was to cut services: scale back dustbin emptying, close more public loos or stop sweeping the streets, for instance.’
- ‘Just look at the state of our old folks' homes, our railways and our public loos if you don't believe me.’
- ‘Sufferers find it difficult or even impossible to use public loos in the presence of other people.’
- ‘Later, I had a drink with a Bulgarian colleague, who told me that the country is to abolish charging for public loos.’
- ‘The council is exploring opportunities for a new village hall and has successfully fought for new public loos at Bosherston.’
- ‘A decision was due to be made on the future of the public loos this month.’
- ‘In the years since, the old problems of litter, graffiti and less-than-sparkling public loos have reared their heads again.’
- ‘The Newlands Drive public toilets closed last autumn, with the new loos scheduled for completion three weeks ago.’
- ‘The horrified landlord of the Victoria Inn at Salcombe saw water gush out of the loos and whoosh through the public bar.’
lavatory, wc, water closet, convenience, public convenience, facilities, urinal, privy, latrine, outhouse, earth closet, jakes
View synonyms

Origin

1940s: many theories have been put forward about the word's origin: one suggests the source is Waterloo, a trade name for iron cisterns in the early part of the century; the evidence remains inconclusive.