Gentlemen's
noun, slang ·3 syllables ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 possessive case of gentlemen: belonging to some or all gentlemen.
- 2 Alternative letter-case form of gentlemen's: a lavatory intended for use by men. alt-of
"Over on that platform's the general waiting-room,... and over there's the Gentlemen's, and, any'ow, everythink's written up."
- 3 Synonym of men's room: a lavatory intended for use by men. euphemistic, informal
"A gents' toilet room might be found in a house that caters for the cheaper class of theatrical patronage, where the slangy language of the "goin' to the mat this aft?" style prevails. A gents toilet room is not found in the Southern Hotel. It either "men's" or "gentlemen's"."
Example
More examples"A gents' toilet room might be found in a house that caters for the cheaper class of theatrical patronage, where the slangy language of the "goin' to the mat this aft?" style prevails. A gents toilet room is not found in the Southern Hotel. It either "men's" or "gentlemen's"."
Etymology
Clipping of gentlemen's room, originally a waiting room for men but by the first attestation of gentlemen's in general use as a euphemism for a men's lavatory.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.