sanitary towel

1 2.1

A disposable pad women wear inside their underwear to absorb period blood

noun
/ˈsænɪˌtɛri taʊəl/

: toalla sanitaria

During her period, she prefers using sanitary towels for comfort and protection.

Examples

Just such simple little things that you just wouldn't even think about like toothbrushes, sanitary towels, nappies.
She always carries a few sanitary towels in her bag for emergencies.
It's important to keep sanitary towels readily available for every young woman.

Synonyms

Kotex

vssanitary towel

3 4.1

A thin soft pad a woman wears during her period to absorb blood

is the general product term rather than a brand name

sanitary napkin

vssanitary towel

3 1.6

A pad worn by women during their period to absorb blood

is the alternative common term used for the same product

pussy pad

vssanitary towel

Offensive

9.9

A soft piece of material that absorbs blood during a period

is the neutral everyday term without slang or coarse tone

Surface Forms

sanitary towel singular

sanitary towels plural

Morphology

sanitary + towel

The meaning is directly derivable from 'sanitary' (hygienic) + 'towel' (an absorbent cloth): a hygienic absorbent pad, so a learner who knows both words can infer its purpose. This noun combination and the menstrual-use reading are common cross-linguistically (e.g. Spanish 'toalla sanitaria'), making it readily comprehensible to a B1 learner in context.

Etymology

Sanitary towel comes from the old use of small cloth towels that women put in their underwear to stay 'clean' during a period. The word sanitary means 'clean', so the name stayed and now sanitary towel refers to the disposable pad worn to absorb menstrual blood.