Home British & World English loo

Main definitions of loo in English

: loo¹ loo²

loo¹

noun

British
informal

A toilet.
as modifier ‘loo paper’
- ‘A decision was due to be made on the future of the public loos this month.’
- ‘Just look at the state of our old folks' homes, our railways and our public loos if you don't believe me.’
- ‘Public loos in Southend could be turned into a trendy underground wine bar, it was revealed today.’
- ‘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).’
- ‘The excitement in the Ladies loos was barely controllable - apparently there used to be only three cubicles and now there's maybe twelve.’
- ‘The second option was to cut services: scale back dustbin emptying, close more public loos or stop sweeping the streets, for instance.’
- ‘In the popular Revolution bar and club on Belmont Street, a hastily extinguished cigarette was lying on the floor in the ladies' loos.’
- ‘The council is exploring opportunities for a new village hall and has successfully fought for new public loos at Bosherston.’
- ‘In the years since, the old problems of litter, graffiti and less-than-sparkling public loos have reared their heads again.’
- ‘The horrified landlord of the Victoria Inn at Salcombe saw water gush out of the loos and whoosh through the public bar.’
- ‘Stand on a street corner with a clip board in hand soliciting signatures for the privatization of public loos.’
- ‘A proposal to shut the public loos in Pewsey is not being taken sitting down by villagers.’
- ‘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.’
- ‘The Newlands Drive public toilets closed last autumn, with the new loos scheduled for completion three weeks ago.’
- ‘A few posters saying so, in a few ladies' loos, might be equally useful.’
- ‘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.’
- ‘Later, I had a drink with a Bulgarian colleague, who told me that the country is to abolish charging for public loos.’
- ‘Sufferers find it difficult or even impossible to use public loos in the presence of other people.’
- ‘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.’
- ‘The loos have been supplied by Paton Plant, a Hamilton-based company which supplies luxury portable toilets to celebrity events.’
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.