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washbowl

washbowl

1 2.4
A bowl or basin for cleaning hands and face
  • noun
  • /ˈwɔːʃboʊl/
translation icon : lavabo
  • She gently placed the soap by the washbowl for easy access while washing her face.
  • washbowl and pitcher
  • water in the washbowl

Examples

  • In the cramped bathroom, a small washbowl sat next to the old-fashioned tub.

  • Her features were composed, but the pitcher rattled the washbowl, and she let the spilled water drip onto the carpet.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • This isn't a pool... isn't this a washbowl?

  • It is very hard to try and stick your foot into a washbowl in a public restroom and not spill water onto the floor.

    Blog text (2)
  • It never bothers me, washing up in a washbowl or an icy stream.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • The students' quarters were equipped with pitchers and washbowls and either a fireplace or wood-burning stove.

    Academic text (1991)
  • "Yes," I answered, "they run back and forth with short little synchronized steps, as if it were against the rules to take longer steps between the washbowls and the big mangles."

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The next morning, when I was on the second floor finishing up work on a sink, flat on my back and staring up at the curved underside of a washbowl, Mother Corinne came in.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • He filled the washbowl with warm water to wash his hands before dinner.

Synonyms

bowl
vswashbowl
370 1.0

A round deep dish with an open top used to hold food or liquid

is for washing hands and face rather than for general holding
basin
vswashbowl
  • UK
12 1.0

A fixed bowl in a bathroom connected to water and a drain for washing hands and face

may be portable or unconnected to plumbing
washbasin
vswashbowl
  • UK
4 2.4

A fixed bowl in a bathroom used for washing hands and face

can be portable as well, not only fixed
washstand
vswashbowl
  • Archaic
1 5.2

A small piece of furniture with a basin for washing hands and face

is only the basin and can lack any stand
lavatory
vswashbowl
1 2.3

A sink fixed in a bathroom for washing hands

can be portable or simply a bowl without plumbing
wash-hand basin
vswashbowl
  • UK
3.2

A bowl fixed to a wall or on a stand where people clean their hands and face

is portable or fixed rather than only fixed
handbasin
vswashbowl
  • UK
2.0

A small sink fixed to a wall for washing hands

is portable or free standing as well as fixed
lavabo
vswashbowl
  • Jargon
9.9

A basin in a church used for washing hands before a service

is used generally at home rather than mainly in churches
wash-hand stand
vswashbowl
  • Archaic
9.9

A small table that holds a basin and pitcher for washing hands before indoor plumbing

is used with modern plumbing rather than needing a pitcher

How Portable

washbowl
1 2.4
washbasin
  • UK
4 2.4

Surface Forms

washbowl singular
washbowls plural

Morphology

washbowl = wash + bowl (transparent) = wash + bowl

Direct compound of 'wash' + 'bowl': a bowl used for washing, a meaning easily inferred by learners.

Etymology

Washbowl is simply the two plain words wash and bowl put together, meaning a 'bowl for washing'. So a washbowl is a bowl or basin used to wash your hands and face.