Do you guys call the toilets Restrooms just like it's officially written on signs?
Posted by Cookieman_2023@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 180 comments
In Canada, we call the them washrooms and it's written like that in public places. However, I noticed that when crossing the border to the US side, they're written as restrooms. Do you guys call them that instead? There's also a video on youtube a while ago that Americans also call them bathrooms, but that's uncommon here. It's not really a place for taking baths or resting so I'm curious about the naming
Western-Finding-368@reddit
“Restroom” is the most common and most polite way to refer to public facilities. Also sometimes used for facilities in a private home when you’re speaking formally
“Bathroom” is more casual.
“Washroom” has a weird, euphemistic, retro vibe. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that out loud. It feels like it would be in Leave it to Beaver.
Nobody says “toilet” unless they’re talking about the physical item. That would be considered kind of vulgar, one step above saying you were going to the shitter.
Midmodstar@reddit
In the south “commode” is not uncommon to hear. I also hear “facilities” in reference to public bathrooms.
Canada_Haunts_Me@reddit
As a tricentennial Southerner who grew up saying "commode," it's a synonym for "toilet" meaning the actual fixture itself, not the room.
MillieBirdie@reddit
In Europe they say toilet and that took a long time for me to adjust to cause it sounds so crass.
schonleben@reddit
I just got home from the UK. I always try to shift my vocab to British English as much as possible when I’m there, and toilet is always the one that feels the most wrong. I almost feel like I have to apologize for being rude whenever I say it.
Aggressive_tako@reddit
I'm learning Japanese and they use toilet as public restroom (toire). I am having low level embarrassment just thinking about asking someone where the toilet is.
ChuushaHime@reddit
You can add the prefix お to it to make it more polite
tiger_guppy@reddit
They also use おてあらい (otearai) so I think I’d rather use that than toire/toilet
MooseFlyer@reddit
“Washroom” is still the norm in Canada, interestingly. Used like “restroom” in the US—public facilities, or formal
ChuushaHime@reddit
I've traveled to Canada several times and have totally picked up the word "washroom" to refer to public facilities. "Washroom" feels more polite than "bathroom," but also more accurate than "restroom" because that term always annoyed me; "resting" is about the last thing I want to do in a public bathroom. Plus like OP said, it has a quaint, novel sort of vibe to it lol. It's a great word
Vyckerz@reddit
My Canadian cousins call it washroom at home too so they don’t seem to differentiate where in the US, I would most likely call it restroom if it was a public facility and bathroom at home.
Meowmeowmeow31@reddit
I think of “washroom” as Canadian, due to watching too much HGTV.
ZachMatthews@reddit
“FIRST THINGS FIRST: WHERE’S YOUR SHITTER? I GOT A TURTLE HEAD POKING OUT!”
FantasticalRose@reddit
Can you imagine being with your friends out in public in a museum maybe and having to announce you need to go to the toilet. No. Restroom is where it's at.
Bluemonogi@reddit
I would call a public toilet a restroom. In someone’s home I would say bathroom even if there were no tub in the room.
I never say washroom- how much washing are you doing in there? That is not the main purpose of the room even if you wash your hands after using the toilet so I don’t think it is any better than saying restroom or bathroom.
I would say “I need to use the bathroom” or “I need the toilet” and mean the restroom or any bathroom available.
Some people say things like they need to use the little girl’s/boy’s room, lady’s/men’s room or the shitter. Young kids might be asked if they need to use the potty.
cherrycokeicee@reddit
bathroom & restroom are interchangable, but restroom is more commonly used to refer to public restrooms.
we don't use the term "toilet" to refer to a bathroom/restroom, bc a toilet is not a room.
Patient-Ad-7939@reddit
Not to be disagreeable, but the two houses I’ve owned have had a separate small toilet room in the main bathroom.
AcceptablePipe3162@reddit
That is generally referred to as a “water closet”.
mckenzie_keith@reddit
In someone's home, I am pretty sure I would say "bathroom." But in public, I think either bathroom or restroom.
DragonflyOnFire@reddit
Because there is no bath in most public restrooms. It’s a restroom.
BeepBeepLettuce401@reddit
This might just be me, but “restroom” feels a bit more polite, so it’s usually what I use when I’m at an event or somewhere with mixed company.
Pale_Row1166@reddit
I say “ladies’ room” in public because it sounds most polite to me. I probably wouldn’t say men’s room though, that sounds oddly suspicious for some reason.
Trimyr@reddit
I mean if I asked for the ladies' room, it would probably be more suspicious.
Asleep-Letterhead-16@reddit
I’ve even adopted saying ‘washroom’ because it also sounds more polite, I switch between washroom and restroom in public
unmelted_ice@reddit
Fully agree - I assume it’s because “restroom” is what is typically on the door at a public space.
Plus, unless there is a bath or a shower, I personally would not classify it as a “bathroom.”
Ghoulish_kitten@reddit
Agree
light_of_iris@reddit
I’ve been to a few ‘fancy’ restaurants that are trying to make a move to calling it a water closet lol
Sl1z@reddit
Isn’t water closet the same as a half-bathroom or powder room? Basically a bathroom without a tub/shower
AndrasKrigare@reddit
At least to me, "go to the toilet" always sounds slightly juvenile, almost like "go potty"
Decent_Concern8751@reddit
Bathroom, restroom, toilets, lavatory, pisser, shitter all used
TapeDaddy@reddit
I like to ask very politely where the shitter is.
It’s about balance.
warrenjt@reddit
Donde esta el shittorio?
ucbiker@reddit
In Spanish it’s mierdador.
bigfoot17@reddit
Shitters full
ValosAtredum@reddit
In my grade school we called them lavatories/the lav. But I don’t think any other school around called them that. I can’t even remember what they were called in my high school.
Responsible_Side8131@reddit
Every school I’ve ever been to/in calls them the lav
hisamsmith@reddit
My grandpa used to announce he was going to the littlest room in the house (if grandma was home) or the shitter (if she wasn’t home)
MillieBirdie@reddit
I do love those euphemisms. I like to do a spin on 'little girl's room' depending on the situation. The little teacher's room. The little dungeon master's room.
Decent_Concern8751@reddit
That’s pretty good
mckenzie_keith@reddit
Pretty rare to sail toilet in my experience.
ghjm@reddit
Yeah, you need a really strong wind.
-joker-joker-joker-@reddit
I mean, the thing's bolted to the floor so yeah
_fenwoods@reddit
Toilet used to be a room. It was the room you would toilet yourself in, meaning groom yourself. The toilet bowl was the fixture found in the toilet.
But then we started abbreviating “toilet bowl” as “toilet”, so using that word to refer to the room and to grooming went out of common usage, at least in the US.
DeniLox@reddit
Eau de toilette.
_NEW_HORIZONS_@reddit
Although we still have toiletries, which are grooming supplies.
GudsIdiot@reddit
If you are asking someone “Where is the restroom?”
Otherwise among friends, we use shitter, jakes, toilet, crapper, head, etc.
wieldymouse@reddit
Restroom is typically for public spaces and bathroom for private spaces.
Effective_Display940@reddit
If it’s a public place/business/workplace, we generally say restroom. If it’s someone’s private home, we say bathroom. Although many people say bathroom for both, and some rare people will say restroom for both.
horatio_corn_blower@reddit
I don’t think I’ve ever said restroom and I’m surprised how many folks here are saying it’s the more common word. Always been bathroom for me, restroom feels old fashioned and formal, like something my grandmother would say.
Apptubrutae@reddit
It’s funny, I say restroom even for my own home and sometimes after saying it i think it feels a little old fashioned and formal.
Wrong_Work7193@reddit
Yeah, I've never heard this irl. At work, it's bio break or facilities. Someone's home it's bathroom.
maclainanderson@reddit
Bio break???
I pretty always say I use restroom, but any restroom that you can also bathe in is a bathroom
Sl1z@reddit
I have heard “bio break” once at my corporate job. Glad it didn’t catch on here lol
kibbeuneom@reddit
The people saying "restroom" for both are the same people that didn't subconsciously pick up on other linguistic and verbal nuances and subtleties, and they have other quirks like referring to the ground outside as "floor", or espresso as "expresso"
roseccmuzak@reddit
I take this accusation far too personally and I don't know why. I was certainly taught that it is impolite to use bathroom, it feels wrong to me to say it in polite company. Of course, that's ridiculous, but it must have been taught to me very young for it to be so internalized.
kibbeuneom@reddit
I think you're an exception. Do you refer to the ground as the "floor"?
roseccmuzak@reddit
no, nor do I say "expresso" or "libary", and I don't "itch" my itches or "plus" a number to another in a math problem (plus and itch as verbs are my personal linguistic pet peeves)
Valysian@reddit
People can have regional variances without them being ignorant tools.
kibbeuneom@reddit
I didn't say anyone was a fool or ignorant. I said there are people who don't pick up on linguistic subtleties and nuances. And no, these aren't regional differences.
Valysian@reddit
They are regional and cultural. That was the point of the whole post. I wouldn't hear washroom in the US, but it's more common in Canada. Lots of people have said in this post that they grew up with these words having different meanings and uses because of regions, culture, and generations.
Also, "expresso" versus "espresso" is a relaxation of pronunciation (that annoys me too), but it isn't a misunderstanding of meaning, grammar, or use of the word. You made a false analogy. I could explain why, but as someone who teaches enunciation and language, I wouldn't want to bore you with logic or nuance.
Listing off all of your verbal pet peeves and lumping them together is just insulting. The implication is that those people are less intelligent and observant than you...or even the average person.
You are trying to insult and offend people.
Weaselpuss@reddit
Nah, sometimes there’s no bath in the room at all in a private residence as well. What then
kibbeuneom@reddit
Ironically, those are referred to as "half baths", when there's a toilet and no bathtub or shpwer.
Even Zillow uses this terminology.
Weaselpuss@reddit
I know, I find it silly. So I always ask for the restroom or the toilet.
Quinlynn@reddit
That’s a powder room. Or technically a half bathroom.
Weaselpuss@reddit
Half of something it doesn’t have? Unlikely. Thats why I always ask for the restroom.
ih8theeagles@reddit
I don’t think restroom is the same. If anything I was taught bathroom was kind of crass and restroom is better in polite company.
GrowlingAtTheWorld@reddit
Bathroom Isn’t crass. Calling it the toilet is crass cause you are referring to the actual item you poop in. Bathroom or restroom are both polite terms as you can both wash up and rest in there. Or you can throw all politeness to the wind and call it a crapper like my dad did.
roseccmuzak@reddit
That's also what I was taught. I'm from the deep south where we're proudest about everything. You wouldnt want to insinuate you might possibly be getting naked in there°
DeathByPianos@reddit
I.e. the common clay of the new west?
Signal-Weight8300@reddit
I say "Latrine", "Privy", or in some select groups "Kybo". I like getting puzzled looks or occasionaly it sparks a conversation.
weeniehutjunior1234@reddit
Bathroom always, doesn’t matter if there’s a shower/tub. It’s considered a little impolite here to ask where the “toilet” is since it puts imagery in people’s heads of you using one lol.
When I went to Croatia years ago I had to phrase it as toilet bc it isn’t understood what we’d mean by bathroom.
balthisar@reddit
"Restroom," "bathroom," or in border states "washroom" (the word originated in the United States, after all!). "Toilet" or "toilets" is sometimes used, and if we're in a mixed crowd we're smart enough to say "W.C." or if showing off "water closet."
We used to take our kid to an ethnic school at a nearby church with the initials "W.C.," and this was monogrammed on the interior walls at certain points. Not being a member of the church, seeing it always made me think of the washrooms firstly.
Sadly, what I hear most often in public is "bathroom," which just doesn't seem right, but then again, I live in a place where people say "pin" when they mean "pen."
Mapleford@reddit
My older male family members call it “the little boys room.” Personally, I find that phrase quite disturbing, I don’t get it all. I usually say restroom, but if I’m with family or friends it’s the shitter.
bjanas@reddit
Restroom or bathroom. Washroom would be a "drie glazie" in Ingorious Basterds moment. No American would ever say that.
schonleben@reddit
My southern grandmother (born circa 1940) used washroom as her more polite term, though it’s definitely fallen out of favor.
CHICAG0AT@reddit
Washroom is incredibly common in the Midwest.
ValosAtredum@reddit
Drei Gläser
Appropriate-Diver301@reddit
Canadian here, but I keep seeing 'restroom' signs in restaurants these days in NS
Former-Fig-9686@reddit
We call them bathrooms at home. Yes, public facilities are called restrooms.
throwfar9@reddit
I’m old, and ask “Where is the men’s room, please.” I never say restroom. If I’m around people I know will understand I say “Gotta hit the head.” That’s what my wife gets too.
DeniLox@reddit
Latrine.
kirbalert@reddit
In a public building? Restroom Someone else's home? Powder room or wash room My home? Bathroom Boat? Head At an outdoor event? The John or terlet (ironically)
matthewsmugmanager@reddit
Yes, they're normally called "restrooms" or "bathrooms" in the US. Both terms are euphemisms.
But so is "washroom." Because we all know that people don't just "rest" or "bathe" or "wash" in there.
CorrectCondition9458@reddit
The reason they’re called rest rooms is bc they used to have an area separate from the toilets with couches and chairs so a lady could rest outside her home when shopping etc. I still remember public restrooms with seating areas.mostly were in large department stores.
MeetingPeople336@reddit
...Wait, really?
MillieBirdie@reddit
Some places still do, especially in fancy hotels.
Valysian@reddit
Yeah, you even still see this at old opera houses and such. There's a plumbed room for toilets and sinks, and a "sitting room" outside that with mirrors and settees. Assumably -- still for fixing your makeup, adjusting your clothes, and sitting down and getting off of your high heels for a minute.
Some_Sea2358@reddit
Yea. Also where you could breast feed and take kids to calm down and such. My old church had a separate place with couches and stuff for that as well.
MammothReputation298@reddit
I would add that some of these terms are somewhat gendered. For example, I could imagine a sufficiently old American woman referring to "the powder room" but we wouldn't expect to hear that from a man of any age.
asphid_jackal@reddit
Restroom, bathroom, washroom, lavatory, John, shutter, little boys/girls room, men's/women's room, powder room... These are all interchangeable depending on context and people around you
MillieBirdie@reddit
Some people call it the head, especially if they've been in the military.
Responsible_Side8131@reddit
I can count on one hand the number of times in my life that I have heard a fellow American call the restrooms “the toilet”
brian11e3@reddit
"Pisserarium"
SteampunkExplorer@reddit
I mean, it's also not a toilet. Look at the etymology.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/toilet
I think different old-timey people just used different euphemisms, which stuck around in different places. I can't even think of a "proper" term for the bathroom that doesn't seem to be ultimately a euphemism. Lavatory? That's a place for washing. Privy? That just means it's private. Maybe "water closet", but that's specifically a modern bathroom with a flush toilet, so it definitely isn't the original term. Outhouse? That could also be your garden shed.
But yeah, we don't use the word "toilet" to mean a room. We only use it to mean the actual commode (which, come to think of it, is another normalized, invisible euphemism).
WritPositWrit@reddit
I say restroom, bathroom, and toilet.
Saying “restroom” is so common here that yesterday i read a post where a person referred to their dog “using the restroom” (the dog was NOT using a restroom, it was on their lawn)
ITrCool@reddit
Yeah we call it “bathroom” or “restroom” or even used a disguised moniker or phrase sic as “gotta run down the hall”.
rawbface@reddit
Just to be clear, the "toilet" is the porcelain chair you sit on, it's not the room. We don't call restrooms "toilets" at all. The toilet is IN the restroom.
ActuaLogic@reddit
Often, yes. It's the standard polite term.
ienjoybacon@reddit
I say bathroom for both public and private toilets. I live in western NY
bluejane@reddit
I use restroom and bathroom interchangeably, if I'm in public I might also say I have to use the "Ladies". I'll use "toilet" if it's a port- a- pot situation.
HomeDepotThemeSong_@reddit
Facilities
Bright_Ices@reddit
One of my favorite overly-formal terms. I like to use it in jest in my own house. “Excuse me, [Spouse], I am rather in need of the facilities.”
Some_Sea2358@reddit
Omg I do the same thing. Then I’ll forget to shut the door because I’m an animal. 😂
zoppaTheDim@reddit
It’s all the silly euphemisms for not admitting you poo. Do you rest? No. Putting in a load of linens? No. Getting some water from the closet are ya?
cuentalternativa@reddit
We usually call it the bathroom casually and restroom more formally, I also occasionally refer to it as the whiz palace
No-Lettuce-5783@reddit
I call them "restrooms," or "the facilities." If I'm feeling particularly crass, I'll call them "the john," or "I'm gonna hit the head."
Derwin0@reddit
Yes.
When it’s a public facility we call them restrooms, in a home we call them bathrooms as those have a shower/bathtub.
Yeahboyeah@reddit
In mixed company, yes.
Astrazigniferi@reddit
I have small children, so I usually say potty because I’ve forgotten how to speak to adults. However, before kids, I would use bathroom or restroom interchangeably for public restrooms. Private ones at home are always the bathroom, whether or not they have a bathtub.
Aggressive_tako@reddit
🤣 I said "oops a loops" in a work meeting the other day. The toddler life is all encompassing.
pikkdogs@reddit
Bathroom and restroom are interchangeable. Never washrooms.
TsundereLoliDragon@reddit
I call it a bathroom 90% of the time.
AuroraDF@reddit
And do you ever use 'loo' which is extremely common in the UK? I would normally ask (in a public place) where 'ladies' is or the 'toilets'. But in someone's home I'd say 'I must use your loo'.
Do Americans say 'loo'?
Jendolyn872@reddit
Nope, but some of us would understand what you mean. Loo is not a commonly understood phrase in the U.S. I didn’t hear that one until i studied abroad. Same with WC/water closet.
Bulky-Reaction8107@reddit
Bathroom / restroom. Whenever I hear someone on tv call it the toilet I cringe - sounds like “the pooper” or something.
ZaphodG@reddit
I tend to use Men’s Room. Restroom only in a really small business.
Bright_Ices@reddit
Yes, public ones are restrooms. The fanciest ones, in old hotels and opera houses, have toilets as well as couches and such to actually rest on, but that’s really rare these days.
Almost everyone will understand if you ask where the washroom is, but we do use the word restroom.
In a private home, we call it a bathroom (even if there’s no bathtub in there). A bathroom with just a toilet and a sink is technically “a half-bath,” but we all just say bathroom.
Jendolyn872@reddit
Yes to all this. Occasionally people use the term powder room, too, but that’s also rare.
angrypuggle@reddit
The ceramic department?
Western-Finding-368@reddit
“Restroom” is the most common and most polite way to refer to public facilities. Also sometimes used for facilities in a private home when you’re speaking formally
“Bathroom” is more casual.
“Washroom” has a weird, euphemistic, retro vibe. I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that out loud. It feels like it would be in Leave it to Beaver.
Nobody says “toilet” unless they’re talking about the physical item. That would be considered kind of vulgar, one step above saying you were going to the shitter. B
Manateekisses51@reddit
If I'm asking someone who works there where it is, I'd say restroom. If I'm talking to someone I know, probably bathroom. At home, bathroom.
PghSubie@reddit
The room in my house with a commode is the bathroom. The room in a restaurant with one can be a restroom. If I ask an employee whether it is, I'm asking them for the restrooms
StewReddit2@reddit
There are many links to historical reasoning how/why we in America 🇺🇸 do/say things
But in a nutshell, to not be crude and to come off more politely referring to what goes on in there.
In the states, 1) Restroom = more public/where you would take a "break" and handle such personal matters.
2) Bathroom = typically came to refer to the room in a home...wear one handle said personals including washing up/bathing/etc.
3) Washroom = More regional in the Midwest ( perhaps with a Canadian influence not sure) but growing up in Chicago the term was definitely used in the region.
4) Powder room, Men's, Ladies, Women's, Little girl's/boy's rooms are also used as masking terms not to say shitter or toilet
But in terms of signage: Restroom 🚻 Bathroom both get used in Hospitality/Residential Commercial like Hotels/Motels/Private office....* Restroom typically being default.
However, as we speak just about any of the above terms are more spoken
LikelyNotSober@reddit
I’ve heard people refer to a half-bath as a powder room as well.
StewReddit2@reddit
From a technical POV that is correct a powder room = half bath ( just to powder ( make up) one's nose/etc) However just like "bathroom" in common usage doesn't really require a "bath" in the room ( notice how we both used half BATH) over time ppl just use it interchangeably to mean whichever
LavenderGwendolyn@reddit
My grandma called the half-bath the “little room.” As in “I have to go to the little room, and then we can leave.” I’ve never heard anyone else say that, so I don’t know if it was an inside joke or what.
PlanMagnet38@reddit
We call the half-bath in my house the Powder Room and the rest the bathrooms. In public, I use “restrooms” to the staff, “potty” with my toddlers, and “bathroom” with my husband (all in the same setting)
Smokinsumsweet@reddit
Bathroom and restroom I feel are both used pretty interchangeably but we absolutely never say toilet like they do in the UK
WBANA@reddit
As a teacher I find it’s just more . . . polite. On a scale towards “I’m gonna take a shit” and “I’m going to powder my nose,” its lies more towards the ladder.
EvilCallie@reddit
for me it is interchangeable, really.
Bubbly_Delivery_5678@reddit
In commercial buildings, its restroom, Ladies’ Room or Men’s Room. In residential settings, it’s bathroom. Though many casually use ‘bathroom’ in public as well.
Smurfiette@reddit
I prefer washroom bc I often go there (in restaurants) just to wash my hands before eating.
I don’t like the word restroom because that room is not actually a restful place.
OrcaFins@reddit
For most Americans, the word "toilet" typically means the contraption itself.
Restroom/bathroom both genteel both references to the private room where one uses the toilet.
Forward_Tank8310@reddit
When we moved to the states from Canada 30+ years ago, I only had to say “washroom” once to see the confusion it caused. I say “restroom” for public facilities and “bathroom” for facilities in homes now. I’m not ever going to use the term “loo” anymore either.
goblin_hipster@reddit
I usually just say "bathroom." Sometimes I use "restroom" when it feels more polite.
OJSimpsons@reddit
You mean the urination station?
Lower_Neck_1432@reddit
If a public place, yes, otherwise it is "bathroom".
wwhsd@reddit
If I heard someone saying “washroom” with any context of what they were going to be doing there, I would probably think they were talking about the laundry room..
BUBBAH-BAYUTH@reddit
Restroom feels a little more formal to me, bathroom more casual
mst3k_42@reddit
If you’re in a fancier restaurant, the door will say W. C. for water closet.
steely_92@reddit
If someone has little kids, there's a chance they may accidentally say "potty" to another adult because that's what they use at home.
Overall-Pattern-809@reddit
I grew up and lived in Canada for 25 years and everyone I knew used bathroom. Washroom was only used by people like my grandma who also called a couch a chesterfield
Bolmieke@reddit
30 years ago my husband brought a new co-worker with him, a temporary worker from Amerika. Nice guy and then he asked me 'can I use your bathroom' ooooh I was shocked. That is not a common request but I thought maybe he has to take a shower for some reason. As a mum of three young children and a busy job the bathroom was my least concern. When he was in our bathroom I realized there was a pile of dirty clothes waiting to be washed in the bathroom and also a dirty diaper, many plastic toys, open packages of different stuff everywhere just a complete mess. I did not knew he only wanted to use the watercloset, I felt very ashamed
mewmeulin@reddit
i've gotten in the habit of just calling it the toilet, but that's because the place i currently live has a separate toilet room and shower room (i think the building used to be a fraternity house and that's why seven units have to share a toilet and shower)
Cheap_Coffee@reddit
Yes.
Character-Twist-1409@reddit
In public nice restrooms for women may actually have a couch or chair so you can actually rest in them.
In private a lot of bathrooms do have a bathtub ofc some just have a shower and some are called half bath when being sold but don't have a shower or a tub but you'd still say bathroom when in the home and going to use it.
I have said lavatory or in Europe water closet.
Confetticandi@reddit
We use bathroom, restroom, and washroom interchangeably, but washroom is more regional.
General_Ad_6617@reddit
Yeah, to me a washroom is the laundry.
sendme_your_cats@reddit
Washroom eh? Same people that call soda "pop"?
kahlilia@reddit
Washroom is how I know it's a Canadian speaking/writing.
Forsythia77@reddit
Soda is pop, but I don't think we tend to use washroom in the Chicagoland area too much. It's restroom in public and bathroom at home. I'm sure there are people around who use it, but it's the 3rd choice for most people.
Confetticandi@reddit
Haha there is some crossover. I know my Midwest grandparents always called it that.
sendme_your_cats@reddit
Gotta love Midwesterners! They always do stuff a little bit different
General_Ad_6617@reddit
I use both restroom and bathroom. Restroom more in public places, and bathroom in my home.
-something-clever-@reddit
As an American who lives near the Canadian border, I can tell you that calling it a washroom is one of the tells that a person is Canadian. You guys also give yourselves away by calling a couch a chesterfield, and referring to what we call Adirondack chairs as Muskoka chairs among other things like saying dollar, about, or project.
qu33nof5pad35@reddit
Yes
1029394756abc@reddit
It drives me nuts when people say restroom referring to my house bathroom. No this is not a freeway rest stop.
FrankDrebinOnReddit@reddit
Public ones are often called restrooms. No on calls the bathroom in their house a restroom. We don't really use washroom though everyone would understand it.
Temporary-Tie-233@reddit
My husband does. We'll just be sitting around our own home alone and he'll announce that he's going to the restroom. I have no idea why 1) he calls it that, or 2) he tells me at all.
GreenBeanTM@reddit
“But it’s not really a place for taking baths or resting” the main purpose isn’t washing either. Washing hands is definitely an important step in the process, but it’s not the main attraction.
divinerebel@reddit
Public, yes, restrooms or ladies' room / men's room. Powder Room is an older, polite term still used sometimes, some places.
Independent-Yam-6036@reddit
The nuns at school called it the lavatory
Bright_Ices@reddit
I once asked somewhere for the lavatory and the person at the counter had no idea what I meant. Now I only use that term on airplanes.
SnooPineapples280@reddit
Yes, restrooms in public, bathrooms at someone’s home. We don’t say “washroom” at all.
YOUTUBEFREEKYOYO@reddit
Usually can use either or, unless it's a public one, in which case it's a restroom.
AlanofAdelaide@reddit
In the UK and Australia we say 'go to the toilet' meaning have a pee or a Trump into the porcelain. A bathroom is where you have a bath and rarely found in a public place. If I want a rest I go into a bedroom.
'
mckenzie_keith@reddit
Toilet makes more sense. When I travel to other countries I usually say toilet if that is the norm there. But I think the OP is asking what is commonly said in the US. And the answer is, restroom and bathroom are the most common polite terms.
lrhouston@reddit
In public, restroom. Someone else's home or with guests, bathroom. In my on home, it's the shitter
Maleficent_Button_58@reddit
Depends. Bathroom at home, restroom in public.
Restroom just feels a little more polite I guess.
Libertas_@reddit
Restrooms are public and bathrooms are private.
seecarlytrip@reddit
I remember in the 90s, and I’m sure long before that, women’s restrooms often had lounge areas where women could quite literally rest and freshen up. Especially in department stores, hotels, and theaters. My old job renovated in 2021, but prior to that the women’s restrooms had “recovery couches” - similar to those leather lounges/beds that you might find in an elementary school nurses office. So women were actually able to lay down and rest in the restroom!
Independent-Yam-6036@reddit
Outhouse lol
CosyBeluga@reddit
Public I say restroom
Amongst friends. Use the toilet or go pee
Strong_Landscape_333@reddit
It really depends where you are and hanging out with lol
Devierue@reddit
Thinking about it, I tend to call public facilities restrooms (as they have no bath/shower), and bathroom when in homes.
Washroom isn't something I hear often, and I never hear toilet in reference to the entire room
TenMoon@reddit
Yep. When I'm out with someone who says, "I'm going to the restroom," I always say, "Have a nice rest." So far, no one has said anything about my comment.
JustKind2@reddit
At home: bathroom In public: restroom, bathroom or ladies room
revets@reddit
Pee vacuums
DMmeNiceTitties@reddit
Bathroom/restrooms/washrooms/toilet: it's all the same shit.
CrossedByTheStars@reddit
Some people do, its more “polite” but most ppl ik just call it the bathroom. It might depend on what region youre in