outhouse
The little building out back where you did your business before indoor plumbing.
Also called johnny house, privy, backhouse.
Updated September 24, 2026
outhouse pronunciation
/OUT-house/
Meaning
An outhouse is a freestanding outdoor toilet, usually a small wood shed over a pit. On farms and in hollers it was just how life worked before the house got a bathroom. Country talk also calls it a johnny house, privy, or backhouse. Still shows up at hunting camps, ball fields, and old homeplaces that never got hooked up.
How folks use it
- “Path to the outhouse gets slick after a hard rain.”
- “Granddaddy still keeps an outhouse behind the barn for when the power's out.”
Origin and etymology
Straightforward compound: out plus house, meaning a building separate from the main dwelling. In North American English it settled on the outdoor toilet sense. British English uses outhouse for any shed or outbuilding. Southern nicknames like johnny house are well recorded in DARE surveys.
Frequently asked questions
Is an outhouse the same as a porta-potty?
Same job, different build. An outhouse is a fixed little building over a pit. A porta-potty is the rented plastic box you see at events.