Meanings
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1
noun
a small building situated apart from a main house and used for storage, work, or another practical purpose
The gardener kept tools and seed trays in a brick outhouse behind the cottage.
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2
noun
a small outdoor building containing a toilet, especially one over a pit or cesspool
The remote cabin had no indoor plumbing, only an outhouse at the edge of the clearing.
Thesaurus
Etymology
From Middle English outhous, formed from out + house; compare Old Norse uthus. It first meant any subsidiary building outside the main dwelling. In North American English it became especially associated with a detached outdoor toilet.