outhouse

out·house | \ ˈau̇t-ˌhau̇s

How to pronounce outhouse (audio)

\

plural outhouses\ ˈau̇t-ˌhau̇-zəz

How to pronounce outhouses (audio)

also -səz \

Definition of outhouse

: 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 When a family stepped out of its minivan, unfurled a pop-up privacy tent the size of an outhouse and took turns sitting on a bucket inside, others in the rest area looked on with envy. — Kerri Westenberg, Star Tribune, "Pop-up outhouses and advance research fuels road trips south," 18 Sep. 2020 Even the wooden planks that surround the outdoor shower, which abuts the eastern wall, were reclaimed from the Sherrills’ 19th-century outhouse. — New York Times, "On Long Island, a Timeworn Pool House Steeped in Americana," 16 Sep. 2020 There’s no heat, and the outhouse serves as the only bathroom. — Hannah Farrow, Field & Stream, "The Science of Hunting Traditions," 14 Sep. 2020 Those in tenement housing did not have their own facilities, but had 25 to 30 people sharing a single outhouse. — Katherine A. Foss, Smithsonian Magazine, "How Epidemics of the Past Changed the Way Americans Lived," 1 Apr. 2020 Those in tenement housing did not have their own facilities, but had 25 to 30 people sharing a single outhouse. — Katherine A. Foss, Smithsonian Magazine, "How Epidemics of the Past Changed the Way Americans Lived," 1 Apr. 2020 Those in tenement housing did not have their own facilities, but had 25 to 30 people sharing a single outhouse. — Katherine A. Foss, Smithsonian Magazine, "How Epidemics of the Past Changed the Way Americans Lived," 1 Apr. 2020 Those in tenement housing did not have their own facilities, but had 25 to 30 people sharing a single outhouse. — Katherine A. Foss, Smithsonian Magazine, "How Epidemics of the Past Changed the Way Americans Lived," 1 Apr. 2020 The 22-year-old Ho-Chunk woman’s body was found May 17 burning in an outhouse in a remote area of a Nebraska reservation. — Sarah Volpenhein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin family calls for harsher charges in 'heinous' killing of Ho-Chunk woman," 30 June 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outhouse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about outhouse

Dictionary Entries near outhouse

Statistics for outhouse

Last Updated

25 Sep 2020

Cite this Entry

“Outhouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outhouse. Accessed 24 Oct. 2020.

Keep scrolling for more

WORD OF THE DAY

sophomoric

Listen to the pronunciation of sophomoric

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Namesakes Word Quiz

Which of the following is a fruit named after a Moroccan seaport?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.