Definition

Noun: 1. A fixed basin for washing hands and face: A permanent bathroom fixture, typically installed with a water supply and drain, used for personal washing. 2. A portable basin for washing: A bowl or basin, often portable, used for washing one's hands or face.

Examples

• As a fixed bathroom fixture:
  • She filled the washbowl with warm water to wash her face.
  • The hotel bathroom had a marble washbowl.
• As a portable basin:
  • In the historical drama, the servant brought a ceramic washbowl and a pitcher of water to the room.

Advanced Usage

• The term washbowl is less common in modern everyday American English, where sink or bathroom sink is typically used for the fixed fixture. Washbowl can sound slightly old-fashioned or formal.
• In specific contexts like antique descriptions, historical settings, or certain product catalogs, washbowl is used precisely to denote its form and function.

Variants and Related Words

• Washbasin (noun): A direct synonym, equally common.
• Lavatory (noun): A more formal term for a room with washing facilities or, in British English, the fixture itself.
• Hand basin (noun): A clear, descriptive term, common in specifications.
• Wash-hand basin (noun): A British English expression.

Synonyms

• Basin
• Sink (specifically )
• Lavabo

Related Phrases

• To wash up at the washbowl: To clean one's hands and face.
  • After working in the garden, he went inside to wash up at the washbowl.

Noun

1. a basin for washing the hands (`wash-hand basin' is a British expression)
2. a bathroom sink that is permanently installed and connected to a water supply and drainpipe; where you can wash your hands and face
   • he ran some water in the basin and splashed it on his face