janitor

noun jan·i·tor \ ˈja-nə-tər \

Updated on: 21 May 2018

Definition of janitor

1 : one who keeps the premises of a building (such as an apartment or office) clean, tends the heating system, and makes minor repairs

2 : doorkeeper

—

janitorial

play \ˌja-nə-ˈtȯr-ē-əl\ adjective

See janitor defined for English-language learners

See janitor defined for kids

Examples of janitor in a Sentence

got a job as the night janitor at the elementary school
according to popular Christian tradition, St. Peter acts as janitor at heaven's pearly gates

Recent Examples of janitor from the Web

Friday evening’s performance will feature local actors Eric Richardson as Edwin Booth; Rob Tucker as Pete, the stage-hand; and Jacob Bensen as Elmer, the janitor.

— maryanna skowronski, The Aegis, "What happened to John Wilkes Booth's stage trunk? Play in Bel Air to explore answers," 15 May 2018
The state auditor’s report showed that UC locations had contracted work for valets, food-service workers, valets, janitors, security personnel, and at UC Davis Health, billing coders and medical scribes.

— molly sullivan and cathie anderson, sacbee, "Picket line grows to 1,400 at UC Davis hospital as two unions add support | The Sacramento Bee," 8 May 2018
In Chicago, a janitor and three teachers at the Rogers Park Day Care Center were accused of boiling and eating babies.

— ryan smith, Chicago Reader, "News / Paranormal / Religion Chicago police ‘satanic panic’ document from the 80s goes viral," 8 May 2018
The arena was quiet now, the seating bowl empty save for a sparse procession of janitors and operations staffers shuffling through the aisles.

— david murphy, Philly.com, "From Jayson Tatum to Brad Stevens' coaching, an inconvenient loss for Sixers on many levels | David Murphy," 7 May 2018
Once word got out, all those years of being a good teammate, of treating people well—the media, the operations staff, the janitor—came circling back.

— chris ballard, SI.com, "Same Warrior, New Battle: Brian Grant Won't Back Down From Parkinson's Disease," 2 May 2018
The bottom line is that the Rauners, Pritzkers and Kanyes of the world will pay the same rate as the CPS janitors—for at least another two years.

— ben joravsky, Chicago Reader, "News / Politics Rich dudes rejoice: The ‘Fair Tax’ is all but dead in Illinois," 1 May 2018
Similarly, Yakov Smirnoff worked as the club janitor for two years before getting top billing.

— david wharton, latimes.com, "Send in the Clowns : The Comedy Store keeps the laughs coming as it celebrates its 20th birthday with some of the comedians who got their start there," 12 Apr. 2018
When we were first introduced to the Black Hood, fan theories about his identity were varied, but what seemed pretty universal was that nobody was really satisfied — or convinced — that the villain was indeed creepy janitor Joseph Svenson.

— brianna wiest, Teen Vogue, "“Riverdale” Executive Producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Said the Black Hood Hasn’t Been Revealed Yet," 26 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'janitor.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.