noun
commode
kuh-MOHD
noun
1
A chair-like piece of furniture with a hinged seat concealing a chamber pot, used as a toilet substitute.
"The nurse helped her elderly patient onto the commode beside the bed."
"They kept a commode in the hospice room for patients who could not walk to the bathroom."
2
A low chest of drawers, often decorative, standing on short legs.
"An antique commode sat against the wall of the drawing room."
How to Use Commode
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither a piece of low bedroom furniture with drawers, or a chair fitted with a chamber pot for people who can't easily reach a bathroom.
Common mistake
In American English "commode" is also a polite word for a toilet itself; in furniture contexts it means a chest of drawers, so context matters.
Common pairings
bedside commode
antique commode
a commode of drawers
Word Forms
commodes plural
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The nurse helped her elderly patient onto the _____ beside the bed.
Etymology
From French commode, literally "convenient" — the same root gives us the adjective commodious.