Australian: toilet.
Australian: toilet. Classic old-school Aussie slang — more at-home on a farm than in a gastropub, but still in daily use across the country. Pairs well with "bush dunny" and "long-drop dunny" for the rural variants.
"Where's the dunny?"
Dunny is Australian and New Zealand slang for a toilet, originally an outdoor outhouse. If your Aussie-leaning kid says they are "going to the dunny" they mean the bathroom. Not concerning, just regional vocabulary. You may also hear it as "down at the dunny" or "dunny door." It is mildly informal but not vulgar. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in.
Slang is read by different audiences for very different reasons. The For parents view re-explains the term in plain, non-judgemental language so a caregiver can understand what their child means without needing the surrounding subculture. The For English learners view focuses on register (when it's safe to use), formal alternatives, and common mistakes — what a textbook won't teach you.
Add your own interpretation of "dunny".
Aussie and Kiwi vocabulary — bogan, daggy, brekkie, sheila, bach, jandals — the whole Antipodean lexicon, including outback dialect, surf and beach culture, and Sydney/Melbourne street slang.
See all Australian & NZ slang slang on Slangora.
Browse all slang words starting with D.
An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a house or main building, which covers a toilet.
Dunny is Australian and New Zealand slang for a toilet, originally an outdoor outhouse. If your Aussie-leaning kid says they are "going to the dunny" they mean the bathroom. Not concerning, just regional vocabulary. You may also hear it as "down at the dunny" or "dunny door." It is mildly informal but not vulgar. If your kid uses it constantly, ask them where they first heard it, not to police their speech but to understand which online community they are in.
Dunny is informal Australian and New Zealand English for toilet. Safe with Australians in casual settings; avoid in formal writing or with audiences unfamiliar with Australian slang. Formal equivalents: "toilet," "bathroom," "restroom" (American), "loo" (British). A common mistake is assuming it is general British English; it is specifically Antipodean. Do not use in business meetings even in Australia. Read or listen to the word in context several times before trying it yourself; the right register is harder to learn than the dictionary meaning.
“Queasy tummy on the family dunny?”
“Dunedoo is well known to Australian travellers due to its distinctive name (dunny is a colloquial Australian word for a toilet).”
“An outhouse — known variously across the English-speaking world otherwise as bog, dunny, long-drop, or privy — is a small structure, separate from a house or main building, which covers a toilet.”
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Somewhat dun, dusky brownish.
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Somewhat deaf, hard of hearing.
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Slow to answer: stupid, unintelligent.
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A cellar, basement, or underground passage.
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Any other place or fixture used for urination and defecation: a latrine; a lavatory; a toilet.
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An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.
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A passageway, particularly those connecting an outhouse to the main building.
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A dummy, an unintelligent person.
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