urinal

[ yoor-uh-nl ]

noun

1. a flushable wall fixture, as in a public lavatory, used by men for urinating.
2. a building or enclosure containing such fixtures.
3. a receptacle to receive the urine of a person with urinary incontinence or that of a bedridden person.

urinal

/ ˈjʊərɪ-; jʊˈraɪnəl /

noun

1. a sanitary fitting, esp one fixed to a wall, used by men for urination
2. a room containing urinals
3. any vessel for holding urine prior to its disposal

Word History and Origins

Origin of urinal¹

1225–75; Middle English < Old French < Late Latin ūrīnāle, neuter of ūrīnalis of urine. See urine, -al ²

Example Sentences

You’ve got areas where there are loads of free urinals for men, but about five toilets for women in a slum of about 5,000 people.

From Freakonomics

So, equal floor space for men and women sounds great in theory, but in practice it means that men have more provision because you can fit more urinals into square footage than you can fit cubicles.

From Freakonomics

A curtain provides some privacy from the bedroom to shared showers, and a fragrance tablet in the urinals maintains a pleasant smell in that area.

From Washington Blade

There are no partitions between the toilets or the urinals, which are all made of metal.

From Washington Blade

Early one afternoon last year, a male employee was patiently waiting his turn to use the urinal, he says, when the female HR manager, Ellis Tseka, entered.

From Time

This is not the same thing that artists have been doing since Duchamp hung a urinal on a wall and called it art.

From The Daily Beast

Even their drinking fountain is famous: a urinal Papa lugged home in a stupor from his favorite bar.

From The Daily Beast

A gap in a corner of the floor surrounded by pipes served as a makeshift urinal.

From The Daily Beast

The Daily Pic: Everything the pop master made pointed back to Duchamp's urinal.

From The Daily Beast

It counts as a  readymade, of sorts, because like Duchamp's famous urinal it transplants a functional object into the art world.

From The Daily Beast

Keep the night-stool and urinal ready for whenever he calls, and take it back when done with.

From Project Gutenberg

With reference to the formation of the urinal cloaca there is not much to say.

From Project Gutenberg

The best method is to keep the urinal of bed-pan partly filled with the disinfecting solution at all times.

From Project Gutenberg

Urinal troughs, made of muslin and coated with oil or paint, should discharge into the trenches.

From Project Gutenberg

If necessary, urinal tubs may be placed in the company streets at night and removed at reveille.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• latrine
• lavatory
• men's room
• outhouse
• toilet