Bathroom

This article is about private rooms for personal hygiene. For toilet facilities outside the home, see public toilet. For private toilet room at a residence, see toilet (room). For washing facilities outside the home, see public bathing.

Illustration of a bathroom from the early 20th century, in which appear a bathtub, two towels, a toilet, a sink and two mirrors

A bathroom is a room in which people wash their bodies or parts thereof. It can contain one or more of the following plumbing fixtures: a shower, a bathtub, a bidet, and a sink (also known as a wash basin in the UK). The inclusion of a toilet is common. There are also specific toilet rooms, only containing a toilet (most often accompanied by the sink), which in North American English tend to be called "bathrooms", "powder rooms" or "washrooms", as euphemisms to conceal their actual purpose, while they in British and Irish English are known as just "toilets" or possibly "cloakrooms" - but also as "lavatories" when they are public.[1]

Historically, bathing was often a collective activity, which took place in public baths. In some countries, the shared social aspect of cleansing the body is still important, for example with sento in Japan and, throughout the Islamic world, the hammam (also known in the West as a "Turkish bath").

  1. ^ "bathroom". Marriam-Webster). Retrieved May 10, 2024.