janitor

noun jan·i·tor \ ˈja-nə-tər \

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

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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

James Murray Spangler worked as a department store janitor who invented on the side.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "The Vacuum Cleaner Was Harder to Invent Than You Might Think," 30 Aug. 2017
Philadelphia International has 20,000 employees who wear badges and work inside airport security as maintenance, janitors, and other employees who work directly for airlines.

— linda loyd, Philly.com, "Airline contractors at PHL agree to bargain collectively with passenger service workers," 29 Aug. 2017
Last year, Michigan’s Garrett Moores was Mortell’s successor and also accepted on video, with a couple of teammates and a janitor on hand in a Wolverines meeting room.

— tod leonard, sandiegouniontribune.com, "College football watch-list blitz: Too much of a good thing?," 22 Aug. 2017
Earp at the time worked as a janitor at the school and was on parole for a previous murder.

— everton bailey jr., OregonLive.com, "Two-time murderer dies after week in hospital," 22 Aug. 2017
And at Gee Edmonson Academy on Canfield south of Forest, polls were closed for the first 80 minutes of voting after a janitor couldn't find the key to unlock the equipment.

— katrease stafford, Detroit Free Press, "Voting-rights activist Garlin Gilchrist to take on incumbent Janice Winfrey for city clerk," 8 Aug. 2017
A memorial service for Carlson, a part-time janitor known for giving students ice cream treats, is scheduled for Sunday at the school.

— amy forliti, chicagotribune.com, "NTSB: Father-son team was moving gas meter at time of Minnesota school blast," 4 Aug. 2017
Dooley, the janitor, was arrested, tried and convicted.

— scott wartman, Cincinnati.com, "NKY Notebook: So I get this call from Tim Nolan ...," 27 July 2017
In one sitting Lattimore went from talking to a reporter to a student to a teacher to a janitor without a hint of pretension or phoniness.

— jonathan jones, SI.com, "Marcus Lattimore is coaching mere miles from the site of his gruesome career-ending injury," 12 July 2017

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.