use the bathroom

use the bathroom

1. To go to a bathroom, restroom, or toilet in order to urinate or defecate. Primarily heard in US. Pardon me, for a moment. I have to use the bathroom. Does anyone need to use the bathroom before we hit the road? It's going to be a long drive to New Mexico!
2. euphemism To urinate or defecate, regardless of location. Primarily heard in US. A: "What took you guys so long to reach the top of the mountain?" B: "Tommy had to use the bathroom about halfway up the trail." I really wish people wouldn't let their dogs use the bathroom on our lawn.
See also: bathroom, use
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

use the bathroom

 and use the toilet
Euph. to urinate or defecate. May I be excused to use the bathroom? I have to use the toilet.
See also: bathroom, use
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • restroom
  • bathroom
  • go to the bathroom
  • go number two
  • answer nature's call
  • Is there some place I can wash up?
  • pluck a rose
  • powder (one's) nose
  • powder nose
  • powder your nose
References in periodicals archive
Just Let Us Use The Bathroom in Peace !-- -- Matt Alea (The Philippine Star) - August 17, 2019 - 12:00am MANILA, Philippines Another day, another story about transphobia.
Just Let Us Use The Bathroom in Peace
Hamilton, 40, had attempted to use the bathroom after a 15-to-20 minute delay, but flight attendants warned him to stay seated because it would result in the plane losing its place in line for takeoff.
Delta Faces Lawsuit For Allegedly Ejecting Black Man Off Flight
Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville, tacked an amendment on to Kolkhorst's bill on Tuesday exempting disabled Texans from having to use the bathroom matching their biological sex.
Texans with disabilities say bathroom bill could further complicate their lives
I frequented one of the long-established hotels in Adliya and needed to use the bathroom.
Hotel standards dropping to unacceptable levels..
Jenny Smith at Ideal Standard said: "This survey has really opened our eyes to the diverse ways in which Europeans use the bathroom. Far more than just a place to carry out our daily ablutions, people use the space to get up to all sorts of weird and wonderful things, from washing car parts to letting the pet turtle play in the bathtub.
WHAT WE GET UP TO IN THE BATHROOM
Paulk later insisted he had entered the bar only to use the bathroom. "I was walking around DuPont [Circle] and I needed to use the bathroom, so I walked in," he told the paper.
FOF's Dobson Says Ministry Under Attack By Satanic Forces
But I did have this nifty yellow pass that allowed me to hang out near the escalators, and I could use the bathroom once every six hours.
Volleyball or death
If passed, the bill would reverse existing policies at some schools which give transgender students the right to use the bathroom of their choice.
Texas Curbs Transgender Students's Right To Choose Bathrooms
The candidates for seats on the Fremont District 79 board of education have slightly different stances on whether transgender students should be allowed to use the bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
Where Dist. 79 candidates stand on transgender bathroom access