outhouse

noun

out·​house ˈau̇t-ˌhau̇s 

plural outhouses ˈau̇t-ˌhau̇-zəz 

 also  -səz

: outbuilding

… barns, stables, and other outhouses …

—Wayne R. LaFave and Austin W. Scott, Jr.

especially : privy sense 1a

They lived in an off-the-grid cabin with an out-door kitchen and an outhouse.

—Diane Daniel

Royal Cove's official outhouse didn't have a name, so we dubbed it Maggie's Loo, in honor of Princess Margaret of Great Britain.

—John Vigor

He calls an outhouse a toilet, because the only toilets his family had while he was growing up were outhouses.

—David Owen

Examples of outhouse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The huts have either an outhouse or an indoor bathroom with toilet paper supplied. —Margaret Jackson, The Denver Post, 13 Nov. 2024

Somehow, the Truman outhouse – built in the 1920s – survived. —Mark Gauert, Sun Sentinel, 6 May 2024

An outhouse, protected by birchbark walls, stood about a minute’s hike away. —Sarah Manguso, Travel + Leisure, 26 Oct. 2024

Arrayed around it are a weather station, also elevated on pilings; a couple of very chilly outhouses; several tanks of jet fuel; and an emergency shelter that’s shaped like a watermelon and called the Tomato. —Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

outhouse

noun

out·​house ˈau̇t-ˌhau̇s 

: outbuilding

especially : privy entry 2 sense 1