A
toilet seat is a hinged unit consisting of a seat, and usually a lid, which is bolted onto a
toilet bowl for a
toilet used in a sitting position (as opposed to a
squat toilet). The seat can be either for a
flush toilet or a
dry toilet. A toilet seat consists of the seat itself, which may be contoured for the user to sit on, and the lid, which covers the toilet when it is not in use – the lid may be absent in some cases, particularly in
public restrooms. When the lid is down, the lid itself is also used as a seat when needed.