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Glite Dictionary
to use the washroom

to use the washroom

1 1.9
To go to a room with a toilet to pee or poo
  • phrasal verb
  • /juːz ðə ˈwɔʃrum/
  • Canadian
translation icon : ir al baño
  • Phonce, I have to use the washroom.

Examples

  • If you need to use the washroom, it's just down the hall on the left.

  • I have to use the washroom.

    The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)

  • Remember how I said I had wanted to use the washroom?

    Blog text (11)

  • If you're going to use the washroom, please be careful.

    Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

  • Why don't you use the washroom in back, Mollie?

    Look Who's Talking (1989)

  • I doubt Usain Bolt ever used the washroom at the IBC.

    Blog text (12)

  • Excuse me, where can I use the washroom before our meeting?

  • She politely asked if she could use the washroom during the break.

Synonyms

to go to the bathroom
vsto use the washroom
  • US
278 1.0

To use the toilet in a polite or indirect way

is the same polite expression but uses different common words
to use the bathroom
vsto use the washroom
  • US
77 1.1

To go to the toilet to pee or poo

is the same polite expression but uses a different phrase choice
to take a piss
vsto use the washroom
  • Offensive
52 9.9

To pee in a rude way

is a polite and indirect way to ask for the same need
to take a shit
vsto use the washroom
  • Offensive
31 9.9

To go to the toilet to poo

is a polite indirect expression used in neutral or formal speech
to take a dump
vsto use the washroom
  • Offensive
26 9.9

To poop solid waste out of the body

is a polite indirect phrase used in everyday or formal contexts
to the toilet
vsto use the washroom
  • NSFW
22 1.0

Go to the bathroom to pee or poo

is the polite indirect way to state that personal needs must be met
to relieve oneself
vsto use the washroom
  • Formal
11 7.5

To pee or poo, usually in a toilet

is the everyday polite phrase rather than a formal or literary one
to take a crap
vsto use the washroom
  • Offensive
9 9.9

To poop, said as a rude word

is the polite indirect way to express the same bodily need
to toilet
vsto use the washroom
  • Specialized
3 7.0

To help someone go to the bathroom when they cannot do it alone

is the general polite phrase for personal needs not caregiving actions
to use the potty
vsto use the washroom
  • Baby Talk
2 3.0

To pee or poo in a small toilet for children while learning toilet habits

is the adult polite way for the same need rather than a child training term
to use the loo
vsto use the washroom
  • UK
1 8.0

To go to the toilet to pee or poo

is the general polite expression not limited to British use
to spend a penny
vsto use the washroom
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To go to the toilet to pee

is a modern polite phrase used generally not this specific euphemism

How Polite

to use the washroom
  • Canadian
1 1.9
to use the loo
  • UK
1 8.0
to use the potty
  • Baby Talk
2 3.0
to take a piss
  • Offensive
52 9.9

Surface Forms

use the washroom infinitive
used the washroom past
used the washroom past participle
using the washroom present participle
uses the washroom third person singular

Morphology

use + the + washroom

The meaning is directly built from the constituents: 'use' (make use of) + 'washroom' (a room for washing/toilet), so a learner who knows those words will infer it means to go to the toilet. The phrase is a polite, literal construction rather than an idiom, and similar formulations occur cross-linguistically, making it immediately comprehensible at B1.

Etymology

Use the washroom may come from old homes and hotels where a washroom was a small room with a sink for washing hands and face, not the blunt word 'toilet'. People would politely say they wanted to use the washroom, so the phrase came to mean 'to go to the toilet' today.