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 bathroom was an outhouse, the kitchen an open-air communal space. —Lauren Vuong, Mercury News, 19 Apr. 2025

To celebrate the fact that spring has arrived, and with it, nine hours of sunlight a day compared to just five and a half, visitors partake in a reindeer sausage eating contest, hockey and snow sculpture tournaments, and world champion sled dog and outhouse races, to name but a few of its events. —Gregory Wakeman, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Mar. 2025

Born and raised on the humble farmlands of southern Georgia, Carter grew up without running water and used an outhouse. —Destinee Adams, NPR, 30 Dec. 2024

At Pescadero State Beach, a lone, ominous outhouse stood in the parking lot overlooking the ocean. —Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 29 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for outhouse

• alehouse
• almshouse
• backhouse
• baghouse
• bakehouse
• bathhouse
• bauhaus
• blockhouse
• boathouse
• brewhouse
• bunkhouse
• clubhouse

Kids Definition

outhouse

noun

out·​house ˈau̇t-ˌhau̇s 

: outbuilding

especially : privy entry 2 sense 1