A bathroom is a room in the home or hotel for personal hygiene activities, generally containing a sink (basin) and either a bathtub, a shower, or both. It may also contain a toilet. In some countries, the toilet is usually included in the bathroom, whereas other cultures consider this insanitary or impractical, and give that fixture a room of its own. The toilet may even be outside of the home in the case of pit latrines. It may also be a question of available space in the house whether the toilet is included in the bathroom or not.
Historically, bathing was often a collective activity, which took place in public baths. In some countries the shared social aspect of cleansing the body is still important, as for example with sento in Japan and the "Turkish bath" (also known by other names) throughout the Islamic world.
In North American English the word "bathroom" may be used to mean any room containing a toilet, even a public toilet (although in the United States this is more commonly called a restroom and in Canada a washroom).