American Slang For Toilet (Explained!)

American slang terms for toilet include things like “the can”, “the john”, and more polite euphemisms like “restroom” or “washroom”. In some cases it may be referred to as the “water closet”. Other terms which are used but are less common in the States than elsewhere include words like “the crapper” or the “outhouse”.

Toilets are something that most of us would rather use either euphemisms or slang to refer to.

It’s generally not all that desirable to start talking about toilets in general conversation, so naturally, a lot of different slang terms arise to describe them.

This is just as true in America as it is anywhere else, so let’s find out more.

American Slang For Toilet

What is a toilet called in America?

The Can

A toilet may be called quite a few different things in America, but perhaps the single most common slang term, in general, is “the can”.

This is more or less a universally understood slang term for toilet in America, although it’s not universally used—unsurprisingly, it is more common among men and generally the kind of thing you would say to friends and family rather than to less familiar company.

The John

Another, similar, and just as common slang term for toilet in America is “the john”.

This one is fairly unique to America and due to its common usage in movies and TV, one of the terms most internationally associated with American slang for toilet.

Again, it’s fairly uncouth and not the kind of thing you would use in any company, but rather something you would use among friends.

Beyond these, there are a few terms that are good to arm yourself with if you want a more polite, euphemistic way to refer to toilets in America.

The Restroom/The Washroom

The most common and widely used of these is “the restroom”, though you may also sometimes hear “the washroom”.

These are both fairly polite ways to excuse yourself to the bathroom to use the toilet.

Water Closet

In some cases, you may also hear it called a “water closet”, though this is far less common.

Beyond these terms, there are a few other terms you might hear used from time to time.

The Crapper

“The crapper” is sometimes used in America, though it is more heavily associated with Britain and Australia–certainly everyone will know what you mean by this term.

The Outhouse

In rarer cases, particularly in more rural states, “the outhouse” may also be a slang term used for toilet.

Why do Americans say “the can”?

The slang term used in this sense is first attested around the beginning of the 20^th Century, so it was likely already in use by some time prior to this.

It is not entirely clear, but the widely accepted folk etymology is that it was a shortening of “piss-can”, meaning that the toilet itself is (somewhat) shaped like a can and of course, it is what you pee into.

More than that, we can’t really say, but this is one of those terms where it is fairly self-explanatory—the toilet itself is shaped rather like a can.

Why do Americans say “the john”?

“The john” as a slang phrase for toilet is slightly more recent, having been first attested in 1932.

However, the probable basis of it is far older than this. It probably derives from the older slang term “jakes”, which was a slang word for a privy that had been in use since at least the 15^th Century.

It’s not entirely clear where this term comes from, but in the past, the term “jack” meant to hoist or lift something.

It’s thought, then, that “jakes” being the genitive singular of this form of “jack”, that it is a humorous euphemism referring to “hoisting up” one’s clothes for using the toilet.

Why do Americans say “restroom”?

The term “restroom” derives from the 19^th Century, and is first attested in 1887.

At first, this term referred to a room that would be set aside for quiet rest in a public place or workplace.

This is what we might call a staffroom today.

Usually, these rooms had toilets in them, so eventually the term came to mean any toilet or lavatory.

Indeed, later on, such rooms were required to have toilets, so eventually the two terms became more or less synonymous.

What else do Americans call toilets?

The most likely terms you’ll hear for toilet in America are the ones we’ve looked at so far—but there may be one or two others used from time to time.

Perhaps the most common among these is “crapper”, which is certainly very far from a polite term for toilet—don’t use this one in the wrong company!

Again, though this is more heavily used in Australia, it is heard in America.

Other than that, in rural, particularly southern states, you may hear even an indoor toilet referred to, somewhat humorously, as an “outhouse”.

Outside of rural states, though, this one is not very often used unless it’s referring to a specific outside toilet.

No matter where you are in the world, there’s likely going to be a time when you need to refer to a toilet by something other than its proper name.

Thus, you get both the less polite slang terms and the more couth euphemisms like “washroom”.

American culture is highly varied, and so there are many different situations where you might refer to bathrooms in different ways.

More in American Slang

• American Slang For Alcohol
• American Slang For Car
• American Slang For Cigarette
• American Slang For Coffee
• American Slang For Diarrhea
• American Slang For Drunk
• American Slang For Jail
• American Slang For Money
• American Slang For No
• American Slang For Toilet
• American Slang For Yes