loo
/lu/noun, interjection, verb
loo is spelled L-O-O: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, loo means “A lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of loo is loos.
How many letters and syllables are in loo?
| Letters | 3: L-O-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,589th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is loo?
Loo appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,589th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce loo?
- UK /luː/
- US /lu/
Loo has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-loo.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with loo
Sounds like: Lou, lu (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: lu.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with loo?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as loo from its last stressed vowel (/u/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ool, olo.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of loo
- loos plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- 'loo
- lo
- lowe
- looing participle, present
- looed participle, past
- lu
- liew
- lue
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does loo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
CommonwealthIrelandUKA lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.
- 2
CommonwealthIrelandUKA toilet: a fixture used for urination and defecation.
- 3
Alternative form of lanterloo: the card game.
Yet, ladies are seldom at ombre or lue sick.
- 4
The penalty paid to the pool in lanterloo for breaking certain rules or failing to take a trick.
- 5
An act that prompts such a penalty.
- 6
A game of lanterloo.
- 7
Any group of people.
- 8
IndiaA hot dust-bearing wind found in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab.
- 9
USslangA lieutenant.
- 10
obsoleteA half-mask, particularly (historical) those velvet half-masks fashionable in the 17th century as a means of protecting women's complexion from the sun.
interjection
- 1
A cry to urge on hunting dogs.
verb
- 1
To urge on with cries of loo or (figuratively) by other shouting or outcry.
- 2
To beat in the card game lanterloo.
- 3
To pay a penalty to the pool for breaking certain rules or failing to take a trick in lanterloo.
- 4
To pay any penalty to any community.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does loo come from?
Uncertain, although usually derived in some way from Waterloo, the site of Wellington's 1815 victory over Napoleon, likely via a pun based on water closet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).