A small table that stood in a bedroom before houses had running water. On top sat a big china bowl and a tall jug of water; underneath or beside were a towel rail, a soap dish, and often a chamber pot on a shelf. You poured water from the jug into the bowl, washed your face and hands, and tipped the dirty water away. So the word belongs to the world of about 1750 to 1920, and today you meet it mostly in old novels, in museums, and in antique shops — a real washstand now sells as a pretty piece of furniture. There is one living use: bathroom shops sometimes call a modern sink unit, the cabinet with a basin set into the top, a washstand, because it looks like the old shape. Countable: a washstand, two washstands. Students almost never need to produce this word; they need to recognise it when a story says a character crossed the room to the washstand and splashed her face.

（舊時的）臉盆架、盥洗台（放臉盆和水壺的小桌）；現在多半是古董家具，或指有洗手台的浴室櫃。