janitor

noun

jan·​i·​tor ˈja-nə-tər How to pronounce janitor (audio)
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

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 on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Japanese public schools do not rely on janitors to keep the environment clean. MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Oct. 2025 One August morning, after more than five years and five thousand attempts, a lab tech named Cliff Kortman—who had originally been hired as a janitor but came to run many of the lampricide tests—reported a different outcome. Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025 Qing Yuan had seen many of these tiny corpses, pinkish, yellowish, tin-gray, curled up, always seemingly asleep, tossed by janitors into fires outside the building. Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025 All sorts of ideas for Halloween pet attire are out there, including an online photo of a dog dressed as a mop sitting in one of those yellow janitor buckets with wheels. Susan Tompor, Freep.com, 22 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for janitor

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from janus arch, gate

First Known Use

1629, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of janitor was in 1629

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Janitor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/janitor. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

janitor

noun
jan·​i·​tor ˈjan-ət-ər How to pronounce janitor (audio)
1
2
: a person who has the care of a building
janitorial adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on janitor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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